If you haven’t heard of Houston Christian EDGE Jalyx Hunt yet, it’s time to get your eyes on the scouting report of one of the most underrated prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. If brought into the right situation and with the right development, Hunt can be one of the biggest surprises of the class.
Jalyx Hunt’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’3 3/4″
- Weight: 252 pounds
- Length: 34 3/8″
- Wingspan: 82 3/4″
- Hand: 10″
- Position: EDGE
- School: Houston Christian
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
As we approach the 2024 NFL Draft, Hunt is a top contender to be the “most interesting prospect” in the class. He played high school football at University High School in DeBary, Florida, where he was the team’s Offensive MVP as a senior wide receiver.
Once he graduated high school, Hunt joined the Cornell Big Red as a safety. He spent his true freshman season as a special teams contributor, and after a pause in 2020 due to COVID-19, he returned in 2021 as an ascending defender, making plays on defense and as a kick blocker.
Having your RB lead block Jalyx Hunt 👎 pic.twitter.com/iWhUD1wnEC
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) April 17, 2024
Hunt could’ve feasibly seen through a path at strong safety, but after the 2021 campaign, the Florida product transferred to Houston Christian, where the staff’s vision for him was different. Hunt made the switch to rush linebacker, and the returns were immediate.
In 2022, Hunt racked up 87 tackles, seven sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and three forced fumbles. And in 2023, he nearly matched that output behind the line of scrimmage with 6.5 sacks, nine TFLs, an interception, three PBUs, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and a blocked kick.
Hunt was Houston Christian’s most talented player, and they knew it. On film, he takes reps all over the place — from the boundary to the slot, to flat coverage, and to the edge as a stand-up rusher — but NFL teams will assuredly be transfixed by his upside at EDGE.
MORE: Top EDGEs in the 2024 NFL Draft
Hunt reaffirmed that upside at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. In Mobile, he won numerous 1-on-1 reps with his burst and power. At the Combine, he logged a 4.64 40-yard dash, a 37.5″ vertical, and a 10’8″ broad jump, earning a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.18.
As he enters the NFL as a rookie, Hunt will be entering just his third year as a full-time edge rusher. And already, he shows immense promise — with the versatility to confound opposing offenses. How high is his ceiling? Let’s find out.
Hunt’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Hyper-explosive athlete with an elite physical foundation and impressive length.
- Able to channel his instant burst and length into awesome amounts of power at contact.
- Has the hyperactive twitch and agility to reset his rushing path and counter inside.
- Brings searing closing speed in pursuit and can teleport to the QB with runways.
- Can reduce his surface area with ankle flexion and pinch tight angles with hip flexibility.
- Possesses the strength to establish half-man relationships and set the edge against TEs.
- Can use his length to scrape past frontside reach blocks, then envelop runners in gaps.
- Has shown he can levy smooth cross-chop-rip combos while running the arc with speed.
- Able to off-set blockers with twitch, then levy violent double-swipe moves past the apex.
- Can widen tackles with feigned speed, then explode inside with ruthless bull-rushes.
- Has the mobility, fluidity, and match footwork to drop into coverage as a flat defender.
- Showcases the blind spot awareness to sink his hips and redirect inside on route cuts.
- Coverage reps bring glimpses of otherworldly recovery athleticism for his size.
- Flashes good discipline and reaction speed against option plays and can recover ground.
- Has a fierce, unyielding playmaking motor in pursuit and is a threat to the final whistle.
Weaknesses
- Frame is slightly high-cut, which can yield occasional hip stiffness on direction changes.
- Pass-rushing stance is sometimes too far upright, which can sap at first-step explosion.
- Is still learning how to more consistently sequence and channel power with his traits.
- Can be inconsistent managing and maintaining his pad level on lateral redirections.
- Sometimes lurches on direction changes when stunting, exposing his frame to punches.
- Is sometimes beaten to the punch by edge-setting OTs and can warp against power.
- Desire to win run defense reps quickly with agility can cause him to give up the edge.
- Strength can be an issue, impacting block deconstruction and displacement resistance.
- At times, can be quicker to stack combos and sequence moves as a pass rusher.
- Can be more proactive engaging blockers with his hands as a stunting defender.
- Can make better use of spacing and initial rush angles to off set OTs before engaging.
- On occasion, can be a tick late processing exchanges and triggering on RBs.
- Sometimes fails to recognize in-line TEs sneaking into the flats on short passing plays.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Hunt grades out as a top-100 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s worthy of mid-to-late Day 2 capital and would be an even better value acquisition on Day 3. Hunt needs more development in some areas, but at his peak, he can be an exciting defensive contributor.
Physically, Hunt has every tool you could hope for an EDGE prospect to have. At around 6’4″, 252 pounds, with over 34″ arms and an almost seven-foot wingspan, he’s a quantifiably elite athlete with searing explosiveness, screaming speed around the apex, and the bend capacity to reduce angles while sustaining acceleration.
Going further, the flashes of pass-rushing execution are extremely exciting. Hunt isn’t just a traits-rich prospect. That’s where much of his value is derived from, but he’s shown he can rush with power, sequence moves after baiting and off-setting tackles, and stack counters around the arc.
Consistency is where Hunt stands to improve, and that extends from the pass-rushing phase to run defense. Particularly as a stunting defender, he struggles to manage his pad level through reps. And as an edge-setter, his middling play strength hurts him at times, as do lapses with discipline on blocks.
Nevertheless, Hunt is brimming with upside, and being a former safety, he brings an extra layer of appeal in the modern NFL. As defenses evolve, we see more value placed on players who can disguise rush looks, get pressure from different alignments and angles, and drop into coverage to occlude windows.
Hunt fits that description to a tee. Add in the fact that he’s just two years into his career as an edge rusher — and already showing flashes of proper execution and counter work — and the sky is the limit.
KEEP READING: 2024 NFL Combine Results
Right away, Hunt has special teams value. But in odd-front schemes that employ stand-up rushers, he also brings immediate rotational appeal as a pass-rushing sparkplug with speed, finesse, and power elements to his game. Ultimately, with more time at EDGE, he will have the tools and motor skills to become an impact starter.
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