Bryce Huff keeping undrafted mindset after major payday with Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
There were 255 players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Bryce Huff was not one of them.
So even after becoming a very rich man this week, putting pen to paper on his three-year, $51.5 million contract, Huff said being undrafted is something that will “definitely” never leave him.
“Just the fact that you came out and not a single team thought you were worthy of a draft pick, it kind of just stays in the back of your mind,” Huff said on Thursday during his introductory press conference with the Eagles.
“Even with having a new contract, just knowing that most of the guys on the team were drafted and were pinned as automatically just better than you. It’s definitely going to stick with me.”
Heck, with Huff it’s even deeper. Coming out of Memphis as a senior, Huff wasn’t invited to the combine and he didn’t even get an invite to the Senior Bowl, which is held in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama.
Huff has had to work for everything.
And because of his undrafted status, it took a while for Huff to earn a spot in the Jets’ rotation but eventually he did and he began to shine. Even though he had just 7 1/2 sacks through his first three seasons, there were some pretty strong signs in the advanced numbers that foretold a breakout season.
Huff got that breakout season in 2023, leading a good Jets defensive line with 10 sacks while playing just 42% of their defensive snaps.
How did Huff pull that off?
“Just being consistent as far as my work and my process throughout the week,” he said. “Really honing in on my opponent’s weaknesses, listening to my coaches as far as a rush plan, working together with my teammates on the D-line and just working like a team to beat the opposing offensive line as opposed to just winning 1-on-1s.”
While Huff’s per-snap win-rate was among the league leaders over the last two seasons with the Jets, he still…
..
