Philadelphia Eagles: Josh Huff primed for breakout role?
While Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor have commanded most of the attention at receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, it’s clear that they’re not alone in contention for starter reps.
Second year receiver Josh Huff, a former Oregon Duck whom Chip Kelly knows very well, has not only been taking reps with the starters this offseason but he’s apparently showing great strides from a year ago.
A report by Jeff McLain of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News seems to indicate the Eagles might be planning on a breakout role for Huff in 2015…
“Huff has practiced well. He looks significantly better than he did this time last year. He had two good moments catching the ball when QB Sam Bradford was on the other end. Huff dusted a defender (I couldn’t catch the number) out of the slot on a seam route and Bradford hit him with a bullet pass 25 yards downfield. Later, Bradford went to Huff on a quick out to the front pylon and Huff extended his arms and seemed to sneak the ball over the plane for a score.”
While ultimately it’s clear that the two starters for Philly are going to be Matthews and Agholor, there’s no doubt that Huff can carve out a role as the no. 3 receiver in this unit and be a phenomenal slot player with his speed and quickness. We got to see a very small bit of that last year when Huff returned kicks for the Eagles, but this year, we’ll hopefully get to see more of him as a receiver.
The fact that he’s building chemistry with Sam Bradford is a very good thing at this juncture, and if he can continue to hone in on that trust with his quarterback, this could be a very fruitful year for Huff. As good as he was at Oregon, it seems almost too easy to have forgotten the playmaking ability he had while a member of the Ducks.
The Eagles and Chip Kelly know Huff better than anyone in the NFL, so the strides that he’s made since last year are likely no joke. This offense might have gotten even a bit more explosive.