Bryce Huff is getting paid to rush the passer. Through four games in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform, Huff hasn't done that.
Huff struggled again in Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finishing with no sacks and no quarterback hits once again. He did finish with a pressure, but had a 4.0% pressure rate -- a very low percentage for a player being paid like Huff.
Even though Huff has struggled to get to the quarterback, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio believes he is becoming a more complete player. Even if the stats don't show it.
"I think he's improving. When I say improving against the run, that's something that he hadn't really been asked to do in the past," Fangio said. "And that's been an adjustment for him. I'm seeing some improvement there. We don't ask him to drop very often, but when he does, I'm seeing some improvement there.
"So he's working hard at it. He's as frustrated with it as any of us are, but confident he'll get it going."
Perhaps the Eagles making Huff a more complete pass rusher have affected his ability to rush the passer. Huff doesn't have a sack or quarterback hit through four games, and has just three pressures (4.4% pressure rate). He's played just 43% of the snaps on the season, consistent with the snap percentage he played on Sunday.
The issue with Huff goes back to the Eagles paying him $17 million a season to rush the passer. Huff isn't even on the stat sheet there, a major reason why the Eagles are 30th in the NFL in sack rate (4.2%) and 17th in pressure rate (34.5%). Of the Eagles 50 pressures, Huff has only three.
The Eagles are trying to get Huff on the field more, instead of being a situational player. Huff did have 16.75% of his rush defense snaps faced result in a tackle, by far a season-high.
Fangio is seeing the improvement.
"Obviously, in his past, pass rushing was his forte. And that was number one for us," Fangio said. "And then see if we can develop him in the other areas, too, so he can play more."
