Jalyx Hunt has learned plenty from Eagles veterans. With Josh Sweat’s exit, opportunity knocks for him.

Jalyx Hunt has experienced plenty of firsts over the last year — his first NFL season, his first Super Bowl victory, and his first new league year.

The last entry in that series of events has not been easy for the Eagles outside linebacker. Over the past few days, Hunt said farewell to a handful of his former teammates who have departed the team through cuts, trades, or free-agent signings elsewhere.

“Hurting my heart,” Hunt told The Inquirer on Wednesday. “This is the business part that everybody talks about. So this is my first time experiencing it. I’m going through the throes of it right now.”

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After all, next season’s defensive corps isn’t going to look like the one that won Super Bowl LIX last month. The Eagles have let key defensive players walk in free agency, including Milton Williams (New England Patriots), Josh Sweat (Arizona Cardinals), Isaiah Rodgers (Minnesota Vikings), and Oren Burks (Cincinnati Bengals). C.J. Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Houston Texans on Tuesday. Darius Slay was released and agreed to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the official start of free agency on Wednesday.

Hunt, the Eagles’ third-round pick in 2024 out of Houston Christian, did not take the time he spent learning from those veteran players for granted. He is making sure they know that as they embark upon the next chapters of their NFL careers.

“Just telling everybody, ‘I really appreciate you, and I’m so grateful for everything that you were able to do for me and teach me while I was here and while you were with me,’” Hunt said.

Hunt is particularly grateful for Sweat, one of the veteran leaders of the team’s edge rushers who helped guide him in his rookie season. He set an example for a young pass-rushing corps, too. Sweat led the team with eight sacks in the regular season. He mustered a 2½-sack performance in the Super Bowl, including one split with Hunt, which made him all the more attractive to suitors on the open market.

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Even though Sweat and Hunt will no longer play for the same team, Hunt said the veteran will continue to push him to be his best from afar.

“That’s the OG, man,” Hunt said. “Josh Sweat, he’s out of here. I told him, ‘It’s up,’ though, because now we’re in direct competition. Because before, I’m learning from you, everything. But now I’ve got to outrush him and everything like that.”

Hunt, who turns 24 on Thursday, will do more than just keep tabs on Sweat’s stats, though. He has always loved watching Sweat’s film, and he will continue to do so when the 27-year-old outside linebacker suits up for the Cardinals. A student of the game, Hunt plans to keep poring over Sweat’s pass-rush moves to see if he can incorporate a few into his arsenal.

He will have the opportunity to put those moves to use. With one fewer veteran in the Eagles’ edge rushers room comes the potential for more responsibility for Hunt in Vic Fangio’s defense. At the NFL scouting combine last month, Howie Roseman said he expects Hunt to make a jump in his game in Year 2.

Last season, Hunt earned more snaps after Bryce Huff injured his wrist in Week 9 and Brandon Graham suffered a torn triceps in Week 12. Hunt’s production ramped up in the playoffs, as he notched 1½ sacks in four games.

Hunt may be going into his first offseason, but he already has a blueprint to follow in preparation for the next season and his increased role.

“I’m going to do what I did last year,” Hunt said. “Just put my head down, work, study some more film, ask more questions. I feel as if I can ask better questions now that I know a little bit more about the position and I’ve played and I’ve got some experience at it. Just ask my butt off. Work my butt off.”

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Hunt will channel his inner Lane Johnson as he trains throughout the offseason. The 34-year-old right tackle often preaches the importance of building a strong foundation — lower body, in other words — to perform at a high level on the field.

“He’s an impenetrable wall, so if I can be a force like that coming off the edge, that’s something I’d really like to be,” Hunt said.

The Eagles would welcome that, too, as their young defense only continues to get younger in 2025.