The Philadelphia Eagles are having problems in 2025. Well documented problems. Problems that seem to make up the lead segment of every sports talk show you can find.
The Eagles are 8-5 overall and on a 3-game losing streak with 4 games left in the regular season. You can’t find many people right now who think they have a chance to win a second consecutive Super Bowl.
The problems, at this point in the season, are almost exclusively to do with a struggling offense. The defense, on the other hand, is starting to look more like the unit that dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
One big reason has been the breakout season of second year edge rusher Jalyx Hunt. He’s tied for the team lead in both sacks (4.5) and interceptions (2) to go with 40 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 pass deflections, 6 TFL and 18 QB hits. Hunt also had a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7.
Hunt had 2.5 sacks in the Eagles’ 22-19 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14. He’s played in all 13 games with 8 starts while starter and former first round pick Nolan Smith Jr. was out.
“The Eagles lost but I don’t want to lose sight of Jalyx Hunt’s impressive performance,” The Philly Special’s Anthony DiBona wrote on X after the Eagles lost to the Chicago Bears. “Hunt recorded four total pressures, including two quarterback hits in Week 13. Hunt also pulled off an impressive interception that the offense couldn’t capitalize on.”
Ivy League Transfer to NFL Draft Pick
Hunt, 6-foot-3 and 252 pounds, started his college career in the Ivy League as a safety for Cornell before transferring to FCS Houston Christian for his final 2 seasons, where he switched positions and moved to the defensive line.
Hunt led the Southland Conference in sacks (7.0), TFL (11.5) and forced fumbles (3) as a junior in 2022 before earning Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023 with 133 tackles, 13.5 sacks and 20.5 TFL.
He became the first player from Houston Christian to earn an invitation to the Senior Bowl and the first player from Houston Christian ever selected in the NFL draft when the Eagles selected him in the third round (No. 94 overall) in 2024.
As a rookie, Hunt was a role player with 21 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 16 games with 1 start. He almost matched those numbers in 4 postseason games with 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
Hunt Represents Incredible Savings for Philly
If an NFL team can get a player on his rookie contract to lead the team in sacks — much less a playoff team — it represents the kind of savings that make owners and general managers text each other heart-eye emojis.
That’s what Hunt is on track to do right now, and doing so in the second year of a paltry 4-year, $4.58 million rookie contract.
That upside might also explain why the Eagles didn’t blink an eye when last year’s sacks leader, veteran edge rusher Josh Sweat, left to sign a 4-year, $76.4 million free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals.
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