In this edition of “Mosher’s Mailbag,” I answer a question about an Eagles player who needs a 2015 breakout.
Q. Biggest players that needs to show improvement to take this team to the next level? — Jeff Rothrock (@rothrock74)
A. Right now, as the roster currently stands, the Eagles need Josh Huff to make major strides from his disappointing rookie season.
Huff, a third-round pick, showed glimpses of real talent last year, but only glimpses. You saw it on his 102-yard kickoff return in the preseason, on the 107-yard kickoff return against the Titans during the regular season and on the 44-yard reception against Dallas, when he caught a short pass over the middle and turned on the jets.
He’s explosive, but last year was largely a disaster. He injured his shoulder in the preseason and couldn’t play for the first month. When he did play, Huff struggled with dropped passes and ball security. He finished the year with just eight catches for 98 yards.
Five wideouts drafted later than Huff — Donte Moncrief, John Brown, Martavis Bryant, Kevin Norwood and Michael Campanaro — had more catches and yards than the former Oregon standout.
But Chip Kelly needs Huff to be a serviceable receiver in 2015, especially on the perimeter. Jeremy Maclin’s departure leaves Huff and Riley Cooper as the team’s best options on the outside, and it doesn’t appear that Kelly will be looking into free agency for more help.
NFL
Kelly almost certainly will rely on the draft to bolster the position, but with holes also on the offensive line and in the secondary it’s not a certainty that Kelly will find his next wideout in the first or second round. It’s also no guarantee that another rookie wideout can just step into the position and emerge into the team’s top vertical threat.
Kelly needs Huff to harness that potential this year. You could see in his limited action that Huff has really good yards-after-catch abilities. He arrived at Oregon as a running back and you can tell he has a running back’s mentality when the ball’s in his hands. His cuts are sharp and he has the innate ability to find a higher gear.
But last year his head didn't seem to be wired right. The preseason injury, suffered a week after his touchdown return, set him back and appeared to mess with his head. Against the Cardinals, he fumbled inside the red zone. Against Houston the following weekend, a pass that went off his hands turned into an interception.
He can’t have those moments anymore. With Sam Bradford as quarterback, the Eagles are poised to become a more methodical, deliberate offense. But Huff has enough explosion to get over the top and stress another team’s secondary.
If the Eagles plan to have some big aerial strikes in the playbook and get back to being an upper echelon NFC team, they’ll need Huff to emerge.