Josh Sweat is back with Jonathan Gannon in Arizona, Brandon Graham is finally retired and Bryce Huff is now at 49er. That’s three of the Eagles’ four edge rushers who played at least 250 snaps last year.
But the cupboard is hardly bare. The Eagles move on with a new cast of edge rushers but a promising one.
Last year, Sweat led Eagles edge rushers with 622 snaps in 16 games, Nolan Smith was second with 546 snaps, B.G. had 311 in 11 games and Huff played 285 snaps.
Let’s take a look at what the Eagles have following the trade that will ship Huff to the 49ers, where he’ll be reunited with Robert Saleh, his head coach with the Jets from 2021 through 2023.
Nolan Smith: The Eagles’ 1st-round pick in 2023 blossomed last year with 10 ½ sacks in his last 16 games, including four in the postseason along with 16 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries. Clearly edge No. 1 going into the 2025 season. Including his postseason production Smith last year became the youngest Eagle with double-digit sacks in a season since Andy Harmon in 1993.
Jalyx Hunt: Nobody on the roster improved as much from opening day through the Super Bowl as Hunt, the rookie from Houston Christian and former Ivy League safety at Cornell. Hunt was inactive in the season opener but by the postseason was playing 26 snaps per game. He had 1 ½ sacks in the regular season and then matched it with 1 ½ in the postseason, most ever by an Eagles rookie. The only edge on the roster other than Smith who got a defensive snap as an Eagle last year.
Jalyx Hunt spoke to reporters after the Eagles’ OTA on Wednesday and was asked about his outlook ahead of his second NFL season.
Josh Uche: Veteran from Michigan signed with the Eagles after splitting last year between the Chiefs and Patriots. He was originally the Patriots’ 2nd-round pick in 2020 and had 11 ½ sacks in 2022, but he has only nine sacks in his five other seasons. He only played 249 combined snaps last year and had two sacks. Still only 26.
Azeez Ojulari: Productive but oft-injured in his four years with the Giants, who drafted him in the second round out of Georgia in 2021. Ojulari averaged nearly half a sack per game with the Giants – 22 in 46 games – but played only 29 games the last three years. Had eight sacks as a rookie, 5 ½ in 2022, 2 ½ in 2023 and 6.0 in 11 games last year.
Jihaad Campbell: The Eagles’ rookie 1st-round pick from Erial is expected to start out as an inside linebacker once he’s healthy, but he also has edge in his toolbox and will likely get some reps on the edge along the way.
Ochaun Mathis: Former Rams 6th-round pick finished last year on the Eagles’ practice squad and played one game on special teams only as a game-day elevation vs. the Ravens. Mathis has played in 14 career games with just 107 career snaps and no sacks.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr.: The Eagles drafted Powell-Ryland in the sixth round after he led the BCS with 25 ½ sacks and tied for the BCS lead with 32 tackles for loss the last two years at Virginia Tech after starting out at Florida.
K.J. Henry: Washington’s 5th-round pick in 2023 only spent one year with the Commanders and split time last year with the Bengals and Cowboys, playing two games each, before finishing the season on the Eagles’ practice squad. He does have 2 ½ sacks in 435 career defensive snaps.
Patrick Johnson: The Eagles drafted Johnson in the seventh round out of Tulane in 2021, and he played in 49 games, with 362 snaps on defense and nearly 900 on special teams. After playing in the opener in Brazil last year, the Eagles released him and the Giants claimed him. He played in 12 games for the Giants, almost exclusively on special teams. Johnson re-signed with the Eagles this spring. He doesn’t have any career sacks and will probably just be a special teamer here if he makes the team.
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