Eagles film breakdown: Can Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt fill the void left by Brandon Graham?

The Eagles have an edge-rusher rotation to rebuild at an inopportune time.

When Brandon Graham suffered a season-ending triceps injury during Sunday’s win against the Los Angeles Rams, it left a void in the team’s on-field veteran leadership and also in the defense’s ability to get after the quarterback. Even at 36, Graham contributed this season beyond his years. He played 46% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and ranks third on the team behind Josh Sweat and Jalen Carter with 20 pressures.

While the team signed free-agent edge rusher K.J. Henry and claimed Charles Harris off waivers on Tuesday, the true onus to replace Graham’s production will fall on second-year pass rusher Nolan Smith and rookie Jalyx Hunt first and foremost.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni says Brandon Graham’s impact doesn’t end with his injury: ‘He’s going to be still leading’

To determine how the pair of young edge rushers may fare — and who else could help pick up the slack — let’s look at the film:

A first-round pick in 2023, Smith had an underwhelming start to his career linger into this season before turning a corner last month. The former Georgia standout has 3½ sacks in his last seven games compared to just one sack in his first 21 NFL appearances.

That jump in production can be traced back to Smith developing a more effective counter rush to his arsenal. He is listed at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, so it should come as no surprise that Smith’s most utilized pass-rush move is to dip his shoulder and try to beat opposing tackles around the edge with his speed.

He got past Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson with his primary rush late in the fourth quarter, although Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford got the ball out quickly enough for it not to matter.

Earlier in the game, Smith was also quick around the edge and did well to knock down backup right tackle Warren McClendon’s initial punch to force Stafford to step up in the pocket. Still, Smith’s tendency to work around the edge allows quarterbacks, even ones as immobile as Stafford at 36 years old, to maneuver without interior pressure to go along with it.

Smith got one of his two quarterback hits by using the counter to his typical speed rush, in which he’ll stress opposing tackles with his initial burst off the line of scrimmage before bull rushing through their chest.

With the Rams facing third-and-11 midway through the fourth quarter, Smith did exactly that to get by Jackson and hit Stafford as he threw for an 8-yard completion.

While these are some of Smith’s more successful rushes, his overall production is significantly lower than Graham’s. Pro Football Focus credited him with just two pressures in 25 pass-rushing snaps against the Rams and his 8% pressure rate on the season ranks seventh among Eagles pass rushers.

» READ MORE: Nolan Smith, Nakobe Dean among the youngsters Brandon Graham is helping ‘fast-forward’ in development

It’s fair to acknowledge that Smith had to contend with chip help from tight ends or running backs at times against the Rams, but for every successful rush he had, there were a couple of times when he got washed away at the line of scrimmage.

Hunt’s increased role in the Eagles defense during his rookie season is partly because of need and partly because the third-round pick has exceeded the initial expectations his coaches had for him.

A converted defensive back from Houston Christian by way of Cornell, Hunt played just 17 defensive snaps in the first nine weeks of the season before getting a spot in the edge-rusher rotation in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys. The developmental prospect played 24 snaps against the Rams, recording just one pressure in 17 opportunities, according to Pro Football Focus.

Hunt’s lone pressure did flash his potential, though. The 6-3, 252-pound edge rusher used his length effectively with a long-arm move and logged a quarterback hit as a result. These are the plays the Eagles likely expect from Hunt as he gains more experience playing a relatively new position.

The reason for Hunt’s lack of production stems mostly from his struggles to have an obvious plan in his rushes, though. He uses a bull rush at times, but predictably gets stalemated by bigger, more powerful tackles more often than not.

He’s also prone to get washed away on stunts as well because of his smaller frame. Working with defensive tackle Moro Ojomo late in the fourth quarter, he wasn’t able to turn the corner on Rams guard Steve Avila on a twist stunt and was pushed across the line of scrimmage instead.

Hunt had an encouraging training camp and preseason, and has flashed at times during the season to back that up. Perhaps an uptick in snaps can hasten his development, but he’s still a work in progress and his production so far illustrates as much.

» READ MORE: Jalyx Hunt has proved to be a quick study. Could more playing time be on the way for the rookie?

The Eagles' best bet for replacing Graham’s production might come outside of the newly shaped edge rotation.

Carter is the obvious player who comes to mind, but the Rams had success double-teaming him to take him out of the game for most of Sunday. When Carter does face double teams, the Eagles defensive front can get taken out of games at times. With the Rams facing second-and-7 midway through the first quarter, both Jordan Davis and Sweat got one-on-one opportunities but were unable to capitalize. It’s the type of play that raises concern about the group as a whole, especially without Graham.

Unlike Davis, Milton Williams was able to capitalize on the Rams sending two blockers Carter’s way so often. The defensive tackle had two sacks and three quarterback hits by effectively running twist stunts with Carter that exploited his running mate’s ability to push even two offensive linemen back with his initial burst off the line of scrimmage.

Williams also won his share of one-on-one matchups without running stunts with Carter. His second sack of the game came bull rushing Avila all the way into Stafford’s lap.

» READ MORE: Add Milton Williams to the list of ‘hogs in the middle’ bolstering the Eagles defense

Especially considering that Williams has experience playing as a five-technique defensive end lined up directly across from offensive tackles, it might make sense to give him an expanded role in Graham’s absence rushing from a wider alignment at times.

Nakobe Dean may also be a viable option to deploy as a rusher more often to help the front get pressure. The linebacker has been effective on “simulated” pressures, when the defense sends four rushers but drops one defensive lineman into coverage in place of a blitzing Dean.

Doing so often results in Dean either getting a free rush or getting matched up one-on-one with a running back, the latter of which he has shown an ability to beat convincingly.

Especially if the two young edge rushers aren’t able to increase their efficiency with Graham and Bryce Huff out of the lineup, rushes like this from Williams and Dean may be the Eagles defense’s best chance at sustaining enough of a pass rush to win games as the stakes increase late in the season.