From Project To Projected Eagles Starter: “I'm Expecting To Do What's Expected '

He was considered a project when he was picked within the top 100 of last year’s draft as the 94th player taken overall. Now, Jalyx Hunt is projected to start on the edge for the Eagles.

It’s an edge that got a little thinner with the reported trade of Bryce Huff to the San Francisco 49ers, a move reported on Friday but won’t become official until Sunday. Hunt isn’t going in with the mindset that he will start.

“I'm expecting to do what's expected of me,” he said. “Whatever the team needs to be done, I'll do it.”

If Hunt doesn’t start opposite Nolan Smith – if he can return to begin the season after tearing his triceps in the Super Bowl – who will?

Maybe it could be Joshua Uche or Azeez Ojulari, but Uche’s production has been on the downslide the last couple seasons and Ojulari spends too much time overcoming injuries.

Edge is one of the biggest question marks on the team, if not the biggest. Hunt can make it an exclamation point if he continues the progress he made last the season went on.

In his first eight games of his rookie season, Hunt played 17 defensive snaps. He was inactive for his first game. Even when he played 25 snaps in his ninth game, he was back to 0 the following week. He averaged 28 per game over the next seven, and in four playoff games, he averaged nearly 26 snaps, posting .5 sacks, including a half-sack vs. Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.

More will be expected this year. How much more? Hunt doesn’t know as long as he meets the standard he has set for himself.

“As long as I meet my expectations, I'm good with whatever,” he said. “I work real hard at what I do because I expect a lot from myself. I'm just gonna keep doing what I do and focusing on what I can control and then hopefully it leads to everything. Come closer to the season, I'm sure my role will be more defined, and I'll do exactly what's needed. Right now, I'm just focused on getting better.”

It helps that he has a year under his belt. He knows the ropes.

"I think this offseason I just know a lot more of what is expected of me. Watching different tackles and different players, I just know a lot more. I've been able to approach my game in a more professional way, what moves I should work on, what I should watch, who I should watch.

"Be a lot more technical because that's the biggest difference I see. Players who are elite and good, their technical levels are on completely different levels. If I wanna be great in this position and in this league, I gotta be technical. That's what I think has really changed between last year and this year.”

Getting better means getting stronger in the weight room. It’s a process that began during last season and was something right tackle Lane Johnson said last year he noticed from Hunt – that he was getting more physically stronger. And he’s not done.

“Whatever weight our great strength staff has for me, I'll roll with it,” said Hunt. “You put in a lot of work every day, lifting, lifting big. Try to lift with the big boys. I think the power is gonna come along.”

He also wants to work more with technique. He has good teachers in Johnson on the right side of the offensive line and Jordan Mailata on the left. Hunt goes against them everyday in practice.

“When you are a rookie going against Lane Johnson and you don't get within four yards of the QB, you gotta figure something out,” he said. “Just ask him. Lane Johnson is a huge guy. He tells you 'hey try this next time.' Jordan is the same way. Just to be able to ask questions just bumps up everything and tells you exactly what you need to focus on.”