Eagles Rookie Answered Door When Opportunity Knocked

Since an injury to Brandon Graham, the Philadelphia Eagles third-round pick has been pressed into duty.

Nov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt (58) walks off the field after win against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Opportunity knocked when Brandon Graham tore his triceps against the L.A. Rams days before Thanksgiving, and Jalyx Hunt answered. Seeing a teammate suffer an injury isn’t the way any player wants to get his opportunity, but when it happens, you have to be ready.

Hunt, for the most part, was.

“I’m just excited to play football, so whenever my number is called, I’m ready to go,” said the rookie outside linebacker. “I knew I was going to accept and do the best I could with whatever role I got. Of course I would love to have a big role. I didn’t want to sit. We all want to play football.”

Hunt has played plenty since Graham went out, part of a threadbare three-man rotation on the outside with Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith. Defensive tackles Jalen Carter, Milton Williams, and Jordan Davis have proved steady pressure up the middle of the pocket.

“They've really got an effective four-man rush,” said Washington head coach Dan Quinn. “That's what makes the challenge more difficult to say, 'that's a matchup, that's a matchup.' You can [bring] help to one, you can slide to another, but somebody has the hard down. And so that's what makes it the most challenging to me.”

Bryce Huff could be added to the mix as early as Sunday’s game at the Washington Commanders after Huff’s 21-day practice window in hopes of returning from injured reserve opened earlier in the week.

Hunt, who is 6-foot-3, 252 pounds, was drafted in the third round and considered a project since he started his college career in the Ivy League playing safety before a growth spurt and strength training enabled him to move to defensive end/outside linebacker.

“It’s wild,” he said. “If you had told me that when I was at Cornell, I’d be like, ‘Man, I’m never putting my hand in the dirt,’ but a lot of things have changed, and I’m not mad at the changes at all. I’m blessed, to say the least.”

Eagles Jalyx Hunt / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

He has played 24, 35, 38, and 17 snaps the past month and made six tackles with half-a-sack in that span, and his hefty package of snaps against the Commanders should continue.

Hunt did not get any defensive snaps in the first matchup between the two teams, which ended in a 26-18 win for the Eagles, which means he will see Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels for the first time. He believes he has been tested in previous games against the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and the Steelers’ Russell Wilson.

“We’re going to have to put on the same hats that we had when anybody – Lamar, Russell Wilson, he’s also good in the pocket,” said Hunt. “We played a couple of mobile quarterbacks, Jordan Love. Just making sure the guys who are good out of the pocket and still have that arm, that we try to contain them.”

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