Bryce Huff recorded 10 sacks for the Jets last year, but he did so without starting a single game and while playing only 42 percent of the Jets’ defensive snaps. This year the Eagles signed Huff to a three-year, $51 million contract with the idea that he can be an every-down player.
So far, Huff isn’t ready to do that.
That was the blunt assessment from Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who said that the Eagles want Huff to play much more than he did with the Jets, but first they have to see that he can play well against the run as well as rushing the passer.
“I think everybody thought he could, and knowing that the floor was just rush downs, but he’s taken the challenge on very well, and I do think he has the talent to do what we want him to do,” Fangio said of Huff. “It’s just he’s got get familiar with doing it. So, it will be a work in progress. Does he look like he can do it today? No. I do think eventually he will.”
Fangio said he needs Huff to “constantly show improvement” and get a sense for how to play the run after being a pass-rush specialist with the Jets and in college at Memphis.
“It’s more of a feel. He has the talent to do it, but he’s never been asked to do it I don’t think in college nor with the Jets. So, it’s new and he has to become more proficient at it,” Fangio said.
With Huff penciled in as a starter at outside linebacker, the Eagles need Huff to get more proficient fast.