Skip to main content

Eagles' Chip Kelly drafts first ex-Oregon player in Josh Huff

Chip Kelly recruited, signed and coached wide receiver Josh Huff at Oregon. Now he will coach him again with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles selected Huff with the 22nd pick in the third round (86th overall). Huff is the first Oregon player drafted by Kelly since he became the Eagles' coach. He also was the first Ducks player to be selected in this draft.

Kelly signed Huff out of Houston's Nimitz High in the 2010 recruiting class and coached him through the 2012 season with the Ducks.

Kelly presumably knows Huff's strengths and weaknesses. Huff is versatile and athletic and has good speed and athleticism, but he's also raw as a receiver and needs work on his route-running. But given his Oregon background, Huff should have a good general knowledge of Kelly's offense and fills a glaring need at wide receiver for the Eagles. Philadelphia also took Vanderbilt WR Jordan Matthews with the No. 42 pick.

He has an intriguing upside because of his versatility. He's never going to be a go-to receiver, but he does have the potential to develop into a No. 3 or maybe even a No. 2 receiver. He fits in the slot and also can play outside, and he also had success as a true freshman in 2010 on jet sweeps. He was the only true freshman to play on offense for the Ducks that season, when they lost in the national title game to Cam Newton and Auburn.

Huff has an inspiring back story. NFL Media draft analyst Charles Davis talked during the draft about Huff's tough upbringing in Houston and noted that Huff is the first member of his family to earn a college degree.

Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.