Feb 28, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas during the NFL combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jets GM Joe Douglas has taken his fair share of heat for some of his missteps as General Manager, but (very) early signs indicate some of that heat may not have been warranted. This is of course in the case of departed edge rusher Bryce Huff.
Having played three games for the Eagles, Huff is having a hard time even getting on the field. His snap counts are down from what they were with the Jets last season and the production has been downright shocking. In three games, Huff has one tackle, and that’s it. No other stat on the stat sheet to speak of. Not a forced fumble. Not a sack. Not a QB hit. Huff has been the invisible man in Philly.
Is it possible that once the Eagles got to the point of offering Huff $17 million cash this year, that the Jets didn’t believe he was worth it?
Despite Huff having ten sacks last season, might the Jets have viewed it as an aberration? After all, he totaled just 7.5 sacks through his first three seasons. In fairness to Huff, he showed enough flashes with his quickness off the edge to lead one to expect a breakout year at some point. That point was 2023.
However, even though it’s no fault of Huff’s, did his lack of production against top-tier, or even starting talent, work against him?
We found this tweet from Philly Nation that went back and took a look at all of Huff’s 2023 sacks. It turns out that of the 10, only 2.5 came against starting tackles, one came completely unblocked and another as a result of Tua Tagoviaola falling over.
To be very clear, this isn’t something Huff had any control over. All he can do is go out and line up against the guy across from him. But when the GM sees that the guy across from him, time and again, isn’t a starting caliber player, might that give him pause?
Is it possible that Huff can be a disruptive player who impacts plays but who may come back down to earth and be a two or three sack per year guy?
It’ll be a while before we know, but if Douglas passed on paying big money for small production then it was a good call by the GM.
Now whether or not it was a good idea to hang on to Huff rather than move him for something at the deadline? That’s a different story.