Bleacher Report sleeping on diamond in the rough Eagles pass rushers in 2025

This offseason, the biggest question surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles was about their young defense and whether they were too inexperienced for a Super Bowl title defense run.

The Eagles lost key veterans like Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Brandon Graham, Darius Slay, James Bradberry, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Avonte Maddox. These have been key players over the last five years for the Philadelphia Eagles, but the team is ushering in a new era of Eagles football.

One position of interest to the Eagles and their fans is at edge rusher. Sweat and Graham are gone, and the team traded away Bryce Huff. That would leave Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt as the young bucks ready to step up in the starting lineup.

Eagles fans are excited to see the new duo due to the great potential they possess. Others in the media have not seen it yet, so they are more reserved about including them on lists like the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL.

Bleacher Report isn't aware of what the Eagles have...yet

Bleacher Report writer Matt Holder released his rankings of the top pass-rush duos in the league. Holder ranked the top five and has five others as honorable mentions. If fans searched for the word "Eagles," zero mentions.

That's okay, though, as it has become something Eagles fans have been used to. It remains a recurring theme that certain positions within Philadelphia's roster will be underdogs entering the regular season.

Smith is a star in the making, and every Eagles fan has seen what he can do. Last year, he was second on the team with 6.5 sacks and also had 11 quarterback hits. He got more playing time with Graham's injury, which helped him show off what he can do.

The regular season is one thing, but Smith's postseason performance was as good as it gets. He led the NFL in the postseason in sacks and tackles for loss with four. He added five quarterback hits as Smith dominated the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive line in the Super Bowl.

Hunt played more of a reserve role in his first NFL season after being Philadelphia's third-round selection in 2024. He came on strong late in the season, as his playoff play was also excellent. Hunt racked up 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits in the postseason.

Smith and Hunt are both fast, athletic, and hungry to get to the quarterback. These two might not be included on Bleacher Report's ranking now, but wait until next year and they will have a mention in it.