Detroit Lions To Host Former Spartans DL on Visit

With the start of the NFL Draft under 20 days away, the hype continues to build. The NFL will welcome over 250 players into the league, with at least another 500 players getting a chance to try out and impress enough to latch on and fulfill a childhood dream.

As the Lions continue to thoroughly evaluate the class, a former local product is getting an invitation to Motown: Jalen Hunt. Hunt, a Belleville High School alumnus and one-time Michigan State Spartan, will meet with Detroit during the pre-draft process.

It was not clarified if Hunt counts as one of Detroit’s top 30 meetings during the process. With Hunt growing up within an hour of Motown, along with spending three seasons in East Lansing, he likely qualifies as a local visit for Detroit.

Additionally, he likely is a local visit with the Bengals, seeing that he finished his career with the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Who is Jalen Hunt?

Hunt started five games during his time in East Lansing, participating in 23 contests in total across his four seasons. He then played 25 more games across three seasons for the Bearcats, missing 2024 with an injury.

At Michigan State, Hunt struggled to find a role, with only 19 tackles and a pair of tackles for loss.

In 2023, his first year in the Big 12, Hunt only recorded three tackles, with half a tackle for loss. This season, however, Hunt was a star on the interior defensive line and at EDGE opposite Dontay Corleone.

Hunt recorded 25 tackles, which accounted for more than his previous career total of 22, along with 5.5 tackles for loss and the first 2.5 sacks of his career. In total, Hunt recorded 22 pressures in 2025, after only recording 12 in his career prior to the season.

Source: Cincinnati DL Jay Hunt has visits scheduled with the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals this week.

Explosive presence in the middle for the Bearcats had 4 sacks & 6.5 TFLs last fall. Former Michigan State transfer.
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) April 7, 2026

Standout Run Defender, Athleticism Off the Charts

There is one metric, in particular, that makes Hunt stand out. Hunt graded out with a grade of 86.7 against the run, tied for the third-best mark among all defensive linemen with over 200 snaps in run-defense last season.

Among Power Four conference players, Hunt only trailed projected first-round picks Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain Jr. as a run defender this season.

This statistic beat out fellow Michigan State transfer and Missouri Tiger EDGE Zion Young, who ranked ninth with a grade of 85.1 against the run. Meanwhile, Auburn’s Keldric Faulk recorded an 85.5 grade in run defense.

Both Young and Faulk have been players commonly mocked to Detroit in the first round of this April’s draft.

Among the top-10 defensive linemen against the run, only Mesidor, Hunt and Jalen Bell of Memphis went the entire season without being marked off for a penalty. Additionally, Hunt’s 5.4 percent missed-tackle percentage only trailed Mesidor among the top 10 in run-defense grades last season.

If Hunt (5-foot-11, 310 pounds at his Pro Day) slid into the defensive interior, his athleticism would have ranked second at the NFL Combine, per A to Z Sports. A 4.99-second 40-yard dash ranked in the 93rd percentile, with his vertical and broad jump each above the 73rd percentile. Additionally, his agility in the shuttle and three-cone drills ranked among the 96th-or-better percentile.

Concerns

There is some concern, however, with Hunt having a small sample size. Hunt’s breakout campaign is also the first season where his missed tackle rate was below 25 percent, despite it being his fifth season with over 150 snaps played.

Hunt’s pass-rush production and arsenal also leave a lot to be desired, but there is some growth with his pressure rates being over four times greater than his 2023 season while doubling his snaps played.

He was an underrated player with Cincinnati, but a standout senior campaign after four unspectacular seasons leaves some unanswered questions.

Additionally, Hunt has missed time with injuries, missing five games in 2022 and the entire 2024 season.

Instant Impact Score: 45. As it stands, Hunt is not listed among any mock drafts or even in the top 300 on draft boards for most sites, and is likely an undrafted free agent target or a late-round flyer. With his run-defense grade, bump in production as a senior and his athleticism, he might be worth a late-round selection. However, he could just as likely be a player who fails to stay on a team until the first preseason game.