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Josh Huff Working Hard To Silence Doubters

By Anthony DiBona

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210 total snaps, that’s it. That is all of the playing time wide receiver Josh Huff received during his rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles. In that small sample size of snaps, Huff caught just 8 passes for 98 receiving yards. Although he did have an impressive 107-yard kickoff return against the Tennessee Titans, Huff really didn’t do much else during his entire rookie season. But it was a mixture of unfortunate events that led to Huff’s poor performance.

It all started with Huff suffering a sprained AC joint injury in the Eagles’ second preseason game last year. That forced Huff to miss a big chunk of training camp and the start of the regular season. Anytime a rookie is forced to miss opportunities for reps on the field, especially in-game situations, that’s a huge blow.

But once Huff finally saw the field as a rookie, he made his fair share of costly mistakes. Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals, Huff had a costly fumble in the red zone. That was strike one. Week 9 against the Houston Texans in his hometown, Huff had a pass go right through his hands that was intercepted. That was strike two.

Then week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, Huff had an opportunity to make a tackle on a punt but ended up pulling up early, whiffing on the tackle and it was returned for a touchdown. Following the game, Huff seemed to blame the coaches for his technique on the play, claiming that he was just doing what he was told. That was strike three, he was out, right?

Wrong, Huff finally bounced back and showed some signs of the ability that made him a third-round pick. Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans, Huff opened the game with a 107-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Lastly, in a week 15 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, Huff finally showed a glimpse of what we all were waiting for. Lined up in the slot, Huff ran across the middle of the field, beat cornerback Orlando Scandrick in coverage, broke multiple tackles and gained 44 yards on the play. That’s exactly the type of play the Eagles and their fans wanted to see more consistently from Huff and he’s working to make that play a common occurrence in 2015.

Huff appears to be a changed man heading into the upcoming season. He’s put on more muscle, is finally healthy and even changed his jersey number from #11 to #13. But what’s most important for Huff is that he’s finally receiving an opportunity. With Jeremy Maclin in Kansas City, the Eagles have a wide open competition at both outside wide receiver spots and Huff seems to have taken control of one of those spots for the time being.

Many reporters have pointed out Huff individually when discussing which Eagles’ players are standing out the most during open practices. Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com mentioned Huff as a player that is “primed for a breakout year.”

But Huff’s rise on the depth chart isn’t just a coincidence, he’s working hard to become a better player. He’s apparently adapted fellow second-year wide receiver Jordan Matthews‘ work ethic, constantly working with the JUGS machine after each and every practice. Shorr-Parks even captured video of Huff working on his hands after today’s practice, even though it was raining, head coach Chip Kelly must be proud of the former Oregon Duck.

It’s easy for a player to just give up in the NFL after a down season but that doesn’t seem to be the case with Huff. He knows what got him to the NFL and seems ready to take a gigantic leap in 2015. Although the team spent a first-round pick on wide receiver Nelson Agholor, Huff has taken the right approach as just viewing it as another player to compete against and work with to get even better.

Luckily with Kelly at the helm, the Eagles have a team-first mentality that nearly all of the players seem to have adopted. The young wide receivers on the team are very close and the trio of Huff, Matthews and Agholor should be a dangerous one in 2015.

But Huff should see the biggest jump in terms of production and the key to it all is that he’s finally healthy. Matthews understands just how important it is for Huff to finally be on the field, as he told Matt Lombardo of NJ.com.

“I don’t even know how I would have reacted to something like that,” Matthews said. “Now that he’s fully healthy, we’re getting him through the preseason and I think it’ll be night and day the production you’re going to see out of him. He’s always been a baller. Now he has the time to get out there and prove it.”

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