As the Philadelphia Eagles open OTAs, one of the most intriguing names on the roster is not a high-priced free agent or a first-round rookie. It is a third-year edge rusher who quietly worked his way into the heart of the defense in 2025. Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski named Jalyx Hunt the Eagles' best-kept secret heading into 2026 OTAs, and the timing could not be better for Hunt to take another step forward.
What's New
In his annual look at hidden gems across the league, Sobleski highlighted Hunt as the player on Philadelphia's roster most likely to be undervalued by the rest of the NFL. Per Bleacher Report, Hunt led the Eagles' defensive front in sacks and total pressures during the 2025 season, doing so on a unit that also featured Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, and a midseason addition in Jaelan Phillips. He also became the first player in franchise history to lead the team in both sacks (6.5) and interceptions (3) in the same season. For a Houston Christian product taken in the third round, that kind of production inside a loaded room is exactly the type of story that tends to fly under the national radar.
Why It Matters
The Eagles enter the spring with a reshaped pass-rush picture. Phillips, who joined Philadelphia at the 2025 trade deadline, signed with the Carolina Panthers in March on a four-year, $120 million deal, according to NFL.com. That is a significant departure for a defense that has prided itself on rushing in waves. Hunt, who opened last season as a starter before sliding into a heavier rotational role, profiles as one of the most natural in-house answers to that lost snap share.
What This Means for the Defense
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's group has long been built on depth up front, and the Eagles doubled down on that philosophy this offseason by adding edge help in Jonathan Greenard, Arnold Ebiketie, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Sobleski's point, though, is that those moves should not crowd Hunt out of opportunity. They should free him up. With more bodies sharing first and second down work, Hunt can be deployed in the spots where he already showed flashes last year, including obvious passing downs and sub packages alongside Carter and Smith.
The Path to a Bigger Role
Hunt's profile coming out of Houston Christian was always tied to traits over polish. He is long, physical, and disruptive, and his second NFL season suggested he is starting to translate those tools into consistent production. OTAs are not pads on, full-contact football, but they are where technique and assignment work get cleaned up. For a player who is still relatively new to the position at this level, that runway matters. If Hunt comes out of the spring more refined as a hand fighter and run defender, the leap from rotational contributor to trusted every-down option becomes much more believable.
What to Watch
Three storylines will tell us how serious Hunt's third-year jump can be. First, his alignment. If the Eagles continue to move him around the formation, that is a vote of confidence in his football IQ. Second, his usage on early downs. Phillips logged real first and second down snaps after arriving, and someone has to absorb that work. Third, how the staff talks about him. Coachspeak from Nick Sirianni and the defensive staff often telegraphs which young players are about to see expanded roles in September.
The Bottom Line
Coming off a Super Bowl LIX run in the 2024 season and a 2025 campaign that ended in a wild-card loss to the 49ers, the Eagles are not rebuilding anything. They are reloading around a championship core. The fact that a national outlet is pointing at Jalyx Hunt as a player the rest of the league is sleeping on is a reminder of how much homegrown talent Howie Roseman has stacked on this defense. If Sobleski is right, Hunt will not be a secret for very long.
