I agree this channel does the best Eagles in-depth evaluations. But why the puzzlement? They traded back twice to get him. They clearly targeted him in the third, after giving up significant assets for DeJean. (I agree with what Howie did, don't get me wrong; just cost a lot.) So, he parlayed that into Jalyx Hunt + 2 fourth. One of whom became Shipley; the other of which will be a 2025 3rd rounder. He got a backup RB and '25 third simply by taking his guy in the third. That's how you do it. Not to mention, EVERY scouting service I saw had Hunt in the late-60s to early-80s. The "worst" had him as a fourth-rounder. You are betting on the traits and coaching. Normal R3 pick imo, especially in a weak draft for the EDGE. Oh, and he's played safety. He'll be able to drop in coverage whenever they get him NFL ready. Birds need depth back there. For year one, he'll likely rarely see the field. But his speed-to-power rush is impressive regardless of where he went to school. He can spell Nolan, Bryce, Josh, Baun, etc. a handful of snaps per game. And since EVERY EDGE needs to drop in coverage at some point, his safety attributes ought to help there tremendously. Take a look at all of the picks in the 80-100 range. Not household names, to say the least. Hell, even in Round 2 a bunch of guys with average traits/production were taken. This draft was very top heavy. Who knows if Jalyx will work out. All I know is his traits are elite, the coaching staff should help him (former DC as DL coach + Fangio) and he called Howie "Big Pimpin'!" What more could ya want, ha? Don't get me wrong, I barely knew about this kid despite reading about seemingly every prospect the Birds brought in for their 30 visit. Rest assured, it is a "good" pick. I.e., the process was sound. Whether he turns into a star, a bust or somewhere in between is to be determined (obviously). Damn that was verbose, but hopefully it helps understanding the selection. Go Birds.
Last note: This draft was EXTREMELY top heavy. It's why the Birds were willing to pay a fairly hefty price for Cooper, as they had a first-round grade on him. Probably why Howie punted to 2025 to get extra 3rd, 4th and 5th round picks.
If you look at it this way. Enough people have seen the promise especially at the Senior Bowl. But at the end of the day Howie dropping back so much he gained the pick back in compensation next year so at worst it’s a wash.
Great detail on this presentation showing Hunts’ pluses and minuses. I think Hunt will improve in time. He is smart and that will add in the pass game. Fangio had a hand in choosing Hunt so I look forward for Hunt to progress.
I appreciate the amount of detail and work that goes into all your videos. It's refreshing after seeing most of the garbage on here. I think all your points are more than fair. But Roseman clearly sought this kid out. He traded back twice (netting a '25 3rd and Shipley) to get 'em. In a perfect world, we'd have gotten him at the top of the fourth. Then again, the difference between where he was taken and the top of 4th is less than 10 picks. His pure speed-to-power and ability to drop in coverage is so critical to depth in Fangio's D. He's a very smart kid to boot. I guess he's "older;" however, considering his journey, I'm much more excited about him than I was on draft night. Getting two legitimately first-round talents also calms the "sting" of a fairly unknown, small school player. I'd disagree slightly, though, on your assessment of him at the Senior Bowl. No, he didn't win often. Just, his pure power always pushed the OL back. When given time to mature his game, having that kind of chess piece to utilize will be valuable -- especially in a very weak EDGE class. Not that your points were unfair. Quite the contrary. Saying he won't be Myles Garrett is kinda funny. One is a generational 1-1 pick; the other 3-94. Hopefully, the lack of elite bend doesn't hurt his chances. As long as he can be a solid depth EDGE with coverage capabilities, I'll take it. Especially from this class. Good video, thanks.
Yeah I think it's a good sign that Howie and Fangio were high on him. The difference in draft spots wasn't much, there's just a few players I would have preferred over him at that point in the draft. He was really at the cusp of where you start taking some of these high upside players with question marks, so at the end of the day, he went about where he should have in the draft. As far as comparing him to Garrett, I'm specifically just trying to point out he doesn't have elite bend. He has a lot of high end traits, which is why he was taken where he was, I'm just showing that his bend is not one of his high end traits and something he will need to improve/overcome in his game. I wasn't trying to say "he's not going to be as good as Garrett", that's just not fair to the kid and would be lazy analysis on my part haha. Appreciate the support as always!
@@PhillyFilmRoom 👍 Fair enough. Makes sense. My only retort, aside from the pages I’ve written, ha, would be: Finding a kid this smart, athletic, long, strong hands, speed-to-power with legitimate safety abilities when he’s asked to drop in coverage - assuming he develops in the next couple years - is such an INSANE upside. Especially at 94. FWIW, I once heard a respected GM say: The job in the draft is to get quality players. But an extremely large factor is not passing up a superstar for a solid player. (I’m paraphrasing.) With that logic, I’d imagine it’s why they went Davis over Hamilton. Same with Nolan over Tuli/Ojulari or even JPJ. The payoff would be immense if it works out for Jalyx - I may even change my name to that if he pans out. Every time I write it I feel cool, haha. And I’m completely with you, especially when we all have that one or two prospects we fall in love pre-draft. Gotta remember too: It’s the Eagles. As much as I love Howie et al., they’re never gonna be the team finding Puka Nukuas, or whomever. Aside from that insanely fruitful 2018 draft, our Day 3 picks haven’t done much. Granted, if they keep hitting on Day 1 and early-ish Day 2, you can always supplement the needed remaining talent with free agency. Especially with how well Howie and co. can manipulate the cap. That’s all. Alright, thanks for the coverage. Yours is second to none on RU-vid vis-a-vis Birds coverage. Especially draft stuff. You filled a void once Breaking The Birds guy started doing whatever he’s doing (doctor in Europe I think?). Hope you hit 10k by this time next year. Take care.
@@PhillyFilmRoom Random question: I mentioned my hope of your channel to keep growing. Exponentially, in a perfect world. But do you guys get projections? Is advertising expensive? I know you wouldn’t be able to get on the front page of RU-vid, especially when folks aren’t logged in. But is there a way to get your videos as prevalent to non-subscribers within this area? Do they geofence? There are a million channels that are criminally underrated. But this one is a good as I’ve seen for a local/regional team. Measured coverage with a lode of analysis to back it up. You even have your own analytics, no? Just curious. And there’s a small part of me that wanted to work in an NFL FO. That’s passed me, by now. I’ve always thought I could come up with interesting metrics-points closer to contemporary PFF. (If you remember when PFF first came out, was all manual nonsense. Why I only trusted their OL rankings for the longest time.) You’re doing quite well without any of my dumb help. But if you ever crowdsource, I’d be interested. If that Top Billin’ dude (of whom I like, but he can be a bit too “bro-y”) can have >100k subs, this one should have that by end of 2025, no? All curiosities. If personal or whatever, no pressure at all to answer. Take care.
Thanks for the great review. I would like to see you do a "Who is Johnny Wilson?" next. Imagine: Jalen Hurts "So Good", Sa"Quads" Barkley, Dallas "Don't Got" Goedert, AJ "Always Open" Brown, Devante "Slim Reaper" Smith and Johnny "Snatch A Catch" Wilson walking up to the line of scrimmage together Fake the hand off to Saquon and hit Johnny Wilson on the wide open post route🔥🔥🔥
He can still work out and if he figures it out, his traits give him a high ceiling. I just thought there were a few players I would've rather had at that point in the draft. I did, but just at a small school college.
Great details. Kid definitely needs to get in the lab and defeat the odds. I really hope it works out but also don't expect anything this year. Great video. I know you covered N. Smith in previous videos. Any expectations or any new opinion on him?
Appreciate it! He has a great skill set and can envision an exciting future. For Nolan, I think his first year was about what you'd expect from him. Didn't have a ton of production in college, was a bit of a developmental player and he didn't see a lot of snaps in the NFL as a result. He didn't show a whole lot in the snaps he got in pass rush, almost all of his sacks & pressures were unblocked or not as a result of him winning with a move or burst around the edge or something like that. In the run game, I thought he was actually pretty good. Much more stout than people gave him credit for coming into the NFL. His coverage should improve with more experience. He has the traits to do it well. I'm not expecting him to light it on fire this year either, but I think with a full NFL offseason under his belt we should see some good improvements in his pass rush. His hybrid play style is also suited very well for Fangio's defense.
Great analysis. In your opinion if his role is to drop back maybe 50-60% of the time and be a gadget blitzer more than an edge rusher would that change your opinion of him. Do you think the eagles would use him that way
i think this is the idea, scheme up some pressures to get him free or on some running backs. drop him into coverage a ton. put him on the opposite side of carter and huff. make the oline slide that way. 🤷🏾♂️ and vice versa
I don't think any of their edge rushers will drop that much. Fangio's edge rushers have really been more in the 15-20% range. But specifically about your question, if they were to drop him back that much, I'd rather they find a good off ball LB to drop in coverage. While he is athletic and has previous experience at safety, he's still a 250lb guy out there. He's not as agile as some of the smaller off ball LBs out there. The versatility to drop in coverage is more of a change up as opposed to a fastball. It keeps defenses guessing as they're never sure if they will be rushing or dropping & where the extra rusher may or may not be coming from. But, being a good pass rusher is still the most important factor as it's the main duty of the job.
I understand where you're coming from. I agree a 3rd is a bit high for someone who will barely touch the field year one. I actually like this pick in a year that was thin on edge talent though. BG won't be around next year, and I think this pick will feel better come training camp 2025.
Yeah it will definitely be nice to have that extra piece heading into the offseason next year when BG is gone and who knows about Sweat. And he has a high ceiling, could very much end up like a Josh Sweat situation, so it's going to be a fun to see what he can become.
There's a few players I would have preferred over him at that spot. Not that I wouldn't take him at all. He has a lot of high end traits you want in an edge rusher, and understand why they took a shot on him. He has a high ceiling.
I think Hunt being so new to the position it's hard to say he can't do something or even that he can learn to do it. As a former receiver and safety, I would presume he has the athleticism to learn to bend, drop his hips and rush. But I think his best path to success is utilizing his ability in coverage 😊
I'm not saying he can't learn to do it. Every player (just about) gets better in the NFL. Those technique things I pointed out are things he will get better with over time. He's just in the developmental stage right now because he is so new to the position. As far as getting better bend, he can improve his mobility some, but being a long legged, high-waisted player will always be a challenge to playing with good leverage. Just like it's harder for people with long legs to squat, it's harder for longer legged people to sink their hips.
I don’t know, when the architect of the Eagles defense personally selects a player and labels him his favorite, it gets all of my attention. Real excited to see what he develops into.
Listen… it’s a good dart throw. But that’s all it is. Fangio likes the potential but even the most talented player evaluators miss more than they hit after round 2. Fangio could be wrong. Odds are he is. But I’m interested in seeing him try.
That's always a bonus and a good sign for the future. But Stout gets to hand pick his guys as well and he's not 100%. The player has to perform. But I am excited and hopeful he can develop as he has a high ceiling if he can figure it out. Just a few players I would have rather seen them go with at that point in the draft.
Cant be too tough to learn hes gotta ditch the false step prior to snap, rip the shoulder square the hips play lower. He’ll never be Myles Garret but thats not really fair to even bring him up with a picture of his bend. He’s one of one
For sure Garrett is one of one, I probably could've thrown a different edge rusher showing their bend, but considering Hunt was taken due to high end traits, you gotta compare certain factors to distinguish players. His body comp/bend is something he'll have to work to improve/overcome.
Makes me sick to my stomach knowing we could’ve picked up a plug n play guard with this pick. Would’ve much rather have done that than gotten a project guy like Hunt - hopefully it works out
Idk if there really was a sure fire plug and play guard at that point or even around 80. I think there were some guys that you think can take on the job in a year or two, but it likely would have been a camp battle either way. But I do think there were some players I would have rather gone with at that point in the draft. But for a high upside swing, that's about where they usually start going.
@@PhillyFilmRoom Mahogany and Puni were there, in my humble opinion they both would’ve been a far better fit than Jaylx Hunt. Both players would be an instant upgrade over steen at RG, Mahogany even a plus starter.
I think he wasn't getting past the 4th at latest based on his traits, upside and versatility. But there were a few players I would've rather gone with there. But yeah like you said, doesn't matter anymore. Now it's how you play.
In that example I'm comparing one very specific body comp/athletic trait. For a guy selected this high due to his athletic traits, I'm distinguishing one factor between the best of the best and everyone else. Despite being a good athlete in a number of areas, he doesn't bend as well as some of the more mobile edge rushers. He'll have to work to get better at that and/or set himself up with his pass rush to negate that weakness.
@@PhillyFilmRoom no I get what you're saying all I was saying is you're trying to compare somebody that just switched to that position 2 years ago to somebody that is playing at position probably since he was in high school or longer. Was he worth the third round pick in my eyes no but in my eyes it don't matter it was somebody at the front office that really liked him and felt he wasn't going to be there when they picked again.
Agreed with taking Wilson. I imagine he was off the board. Although they did draft Landon Dickerson with a 2nd when he had two separate torn ACLs and another surgery that ended a season in college, so who knows. Only time will tell if they made the right choice or not.
I think this is clearly a dice roll. That I was personally okay with, I feel like he built a lot of bad habits technique wise because of his level of competition. With understanding that 3rd round draft pick hit rated I'm okay taking a big swing on a HWS player at a premium position. Coaches just gotta earn their keep.
Yeah I get it for sure, high ceiling makes it an intriguing gamble. There were a couple players I would've rather taken instead, but understand why they went this route, especially at a premium position like you said.
That’s the thing he’s just not a pass rusher. He’s a coverage linebacker backer as well. You’re comparing him to miles Garrett . c’mon let Vic have some fun
For sure, he can drop into coverage. But 80% of his pass snaps will be spent rushing the passer, he'll need to be solid in that area as well. And I'm just comparing his bend. Gotta show things that separate the top players with everyone else. Point is, despite being a player taken based on very good athletic traits, he doesn't have bend like Garrett and other top pass rushers. It's a part of his game he'll have to improve/overcome.
Yeah definitely held him. But also need to remember that we're projecting him to play against tackles that are going to be in the NFL. NFL tackles will get to their landmarks much quicker. He'll need to be better with his technique to overcome that. It also likely would've prevented him from getting held here (which wasn't called) and given him a better chance to get to the QB.
