Eagles Select Oregon WR Josh Huff


Chip Kelly finally drafted an Oregon player.

With the 86th pick in the third round, the Eagles selected wide receiver Josh Huff. The 5-11, 206-pounder caught 62 balls for 1,140 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. He ran a 4.51 at the combine. Here’s what his measurables look like:

Nothing really jumps off the page, but Huff was a productive receiver. He can line up outside or in the slot. And Huff was a big-play threat, averaging 18.4 yards per reception. He was also a contributor on special teams.

“He’s got a nasty presence to himself,” Kelly said. “He’s not risk-averse to contact. He’s gonna get after people. He’s a physical player in the run game.”

Huff had a hunch that he might end up with his former coach.

“He said he was gonna draft me, and he kept his word,” he said.

During Oregon’s Pro Day, Eagles wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell apparently let the Ducks’ offensive coordinator know that a reunion was likely. So when the phone rang Friday night, Huff was ecstatic.

“When that 2-1-5 popped up on my phone, I immediately started to cry,” he said.

Back in January, we caught up with Huff at the Senior Bowl. Asked for his favorite memory of Kelly, Huff recalled a game against Stanford his sophomore year.

“It was halftime and he came in… it was a close battle and he came in and I’ve never seen him so fired up,” Huff said. “He came in, flipped the table over, he was cussing a little bit. It fired the whole team up. Eventually we went out there in the second half and did what we had to do, made plays and came out with a victory.”

Huff was keeping an eye on the Eagles in the fall.

“The reason that he left was he wanted to take on the challenge because people thought that his offense wouldn’t work in the NFL,” Huff said. “And look what it did his first year. It’s only gonna continue to get better as players get more comfortable in the offense. I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for the Eagles.”

Huff also talked about seeing Kelly cry when the coach told the team he was leaving.

The Eagles have added Huff and Jordan Matthews to a group of receivers that includes Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper.

Meanwhile, they traded the 83rd pick to the Texans for a fourth-rounder (101) and a fifth-rounder (141). Houston took Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix with the pick. The 101st pick is the first one on Day 3 Saturday.

As of right now, the Eagles have four remaining picks: 101 (4th), 141 (5th), 162 (5th), 237 (7th).