Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Josh Huff failed to make much of a positive impact in Year One in the NFL. That's not to say that he didn't make any impact, it's just that most of the plays Huff was a part of that you could consider "memorable" ended up with a frustrated and angry Eagles fandom. There was the drive-killing fumble at the end of the Cardinals game. There was the bobbled pass that wound up an interception against the Texans. And by season's end, there were a total of four drops, all of which seemed to come at the most inopportune times.
Huff, a former Oregon product and Chip Kelly college star, has taken serious steps this offseason to erase the memory of his forgettable rookie year and hopefully secure himself a position amongst the top weapons for the NFL version of Kelly's offense.
"Last year, Josh had a problem getting off press coverage at the line," Rischad Whitfield explained, via PhillyMag.com. "When he was lining up out wide, defensive backs were jamming him and it was taking him forever to get off the line...I've been working on a lot of press releases. I've been working on a lot of different footwork moves for Josh that can help him get open because once he gets open and gets that separation from the DB, everything else is history because he is so explosive and fast."
Whitfield, known as "The Footwork King" has been working closely with Huff this offseason to help the 5-foot-11, 203-pound running back-like receiver to improve his game.
Check out some videos of their workout sessions...
My athlete Josh Huff, Wide Receiver for the @Eagles got better today. @Huff_Era_1 @Tim_McManus pic.twitter.com/T9navONNfI
— footwork_king (@footwork_king1) July 21, 2015
Great training session in today with my athlete Josh Huff, Wide Receiver for the @Eagles @Huff_Era_1 pic.twitter.com/ar5sb2Lzgu — footwork_king (@footwork_king1) July 13, 2015
Huff had a promising opening to his NFL career significantly hampered by injuries that caused him to miss ample training camp time and four regular season games before finally suiting up and collecting a total of just eight receptions for 98 yards. Huff's standing in the eyes of Philly fans was likely also hindered by the efforts of fellow rookie wideout Jordan Matthews whose 67-catch, 872-yard, eight touchdown output stood in stark contrast to Huff's own poor rookie campaign.
"I think he's made great progress," said Kelly, according to Philly.com. "The biggest thing with Josh is just consistency. I think it is for most guys. When you come in as a first year player, he was obviously set back a little bit because of his injury, and then missing the first portion of the season, but then just flashed at times. Has a kickoff return for a touchdown, which was a heck of a return. Just a more consistent basis in terms of his performance out there. I think he's really been a lot more consistent, and that's what we've been trying to work on with him."
Huff's ability to take a step forward for Philly next season is important - along with Matthews and recent first-round pick Nelson Agholor, he likely represents the future of the wide receiver depth chart for the Eagles. For whatever it's worth, Kelly has noticed a significant difference in the way Huff has approached this offseason, even going so far as to help out Agholor and some of the Eagles other young receiver additions.
"You see him helping out Nelson [Agholor] and some of the undrafted guys we brought in here. I think he's done a real good job from that standpoint," said Kelly. "I think he's carrying himself in a different manner now just because I think he's a year older."
