Why Jets’ Bryce Huff deserves a contract extension, and what it might cost

It used to be “Free Bryce Huff.” Now it’s “Pay Bryce Huff.” Huff is a New York Jets fan favorite, and when he was a healthy scratch three straight weeks to start last season, it spurred a movement among those fans on social media. By Week 4, he had three QB pressures in only nine snaps, then four in 15 snaps a week later.

In Week 9, he strip-sacked Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on the last drive of the fourth quarter, clinching the Jets’ signature win of the 2022 season. By the end of the year, he was one of the NFL’s most efficient pass rushers, making the most of limited opportunities: He played only 20 percent of the defensive snaps, but still managed 36 pressures, eight QB hits and 2 1/2 sacks. It was enough for the Jets to give him a second-round restricted free-agent tender this offseason, locking him in for $4.3 million — significant for an undrafted player.

Now in 2023 the Jets are unleashing Huff as more than just a situational pass rusher. In a contract year, he’s dominating — and it’s time for general manager Joe Douglas to pay up before Huff hits the open market in free agency this offseason, when his price will surely go up. The Jets and Huff have not had any extensive conversations about a new contract yet. Huff is only 25, an impactful pass rusher and improving in other areas. Jets coaches have said he hasn’t even reached his ceiling yet, a scary thought considering what he’s done to opposing quarterbacks in recent weeks.

Against the Eagles, Huff tied his career high with eight pressures in 27 pass-rushing snaps, per Pro Football Focus. That was just after getting eight in 20 snaps against the Broncos, and seven in 18 snaps against the Chiefs. On plays where Huff got pressure, Jalen Hurts, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes combined to complete 6 of 15 passes for 20 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and an 8.3 passer rating while getting sacked four times.

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Huff also leads the NFL in pressures over the last three weeks (23) and is fourth for the season behind stars like Maxx Crosby, Micah Parsons and Aidan Hutchinson, despite playing half as many snaps. Of the top 50 leaders in pressures, only three players have played fewer snaps than Huff, and he has at least 10 more pressures than all of them.

“When we first got here, we thought of him as a third-down specialist, a guy that went in and just burned an edge and that was his primary role,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “But the more he’s in this system and the more we work with him, this is a guy, I think, that has the potential to play every single down. He’s a tremendous asset for us.”

A tremendous asset.

To fully understand Huff’s impact, and the new contract he’s rightfully earned, let’s take a look at what he’s doing, how he does it — and what that’s worth:

What he’s doing

Let’s start at the beginning: Huff went undrafted out of Memphis in 2020 but most of the scouting reports at the time could at least see the pass-rushing potential. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had him ranked 32nd among edge rushers in that class and graded as a seventh-round pick or priority free agent. Brugler questioned his lack of length and skills as a run defender but also wrote Huff “rushes like an energetic ball of butcher knives, projecting as an NFL nickel rusher due to his first step quickness and relentless nature.”

There were 24 edge rushers drafted in 2020. Huff has more QB hits (24) than all of them, per PFF. Huff has 101 pressures, and only three others from that class have more (Josh Uche, Chase Young and Alex Highsmith). Nine edges have more sacks, but all of them have played more snaps. Eight edge rushers drafted in 2020 are out of the league — including Jets third-round pick Jabari Zuniga. Two others were cut and signed with different teams.

2020 edge class (via PFF)

“He’s a guy who people counted out but he’s done nothing but make plays out there,” defensive end John Franklin-Myers said. “He makes us better.”

This season, Huff has been better at pressuring the quarterback than everyone from that draft class, and most edge rushers in the NFL at large. He’s generated a 25.7 percent pressure rate over the last two seasons, making him the only player over 22 percent (minimum 250 pass rushes), just ahead of stars like Parsons, Brandon Graham and Myles Garrett.

This season, Huff is getting pressure on 30.8 percent of his pass rushes, which ranks first among edge rushers, per TruMedia. PFF has a metric called “pass-rush productivity rating,” which is the amount of pressure accumulated per pass-rushing snap. Huff’s rating is 17.1, tops among all pass rushers with more than 20 pass-rushing snaps, tackle or edge. He also has 20 total pressures on third and fourth down, which leads the NFL. But he’s playing more on first and second down than ever before, too — and those are not typically considered “passing downs.” He’s played 50 snaps on first and second down the last three weeks and has 12 pressures and 1 1/2 sacks on those plays. The Eagles, an elite rushing offense, averaged only 3.9 yards per rush with Huff on the field.

Jets coach Robert Saleh said recently that Huff “forced his way” onto the field on early downs with his improvement. Huff trained this offseason at Exos in Florida with some other standout NFL players, including Commanders defensive end Montez Sweat.

“He’s a special football player,” Saleh said. “Anytime you got a guy who just earned his way as an undrafted free agent, gets cut, all that stuff and had to remake his body and what he’s done. He’s a special human. He is getting better on first and second down, with regards to defending the run. Things are becoming more natural in that regard. And obviously from a pass-rushers standpoint, we know how good he is.”

JJ Watt with some Bryce Huff praise ✊
The NFL world finally starting to take notice of what we’ve seen for years
🎥: @PatMcAfeeShow #Jets
— Dylan (@nyjetsfansonly) October 18, 2023

How he does it

Huff’s specialty is speed and explosion. NFL analyst Brian Baldinger nicknamed him “Bugatti” for his speed coming off the edge. Huff’s get-off is so fast and forceful that it often leaves offensive tackles scrambling for answers. Chiefs tackle Jawaan Taylor was so flustered as Huff was getting around him, he grabbed Huff’s facemask, which caused a penalty and, in turn, a safety. Taylor was also fined $16,391 for the penalty. On that play, Huff was timed at 0.55 seconds getting off the line of scrimmage, per Next Gen Stats.

Huff’s signature move is called a “cross chop,” where he runs at an offensive lineman like he’s attacking him from one side, chops across the lineman’s body and runs the other way — a lethal move combined with his power and explosion.

“He doesn’t stop working his butt off,” Jets defensive end Jermaine Johnson said. “Obviously, you see numbers don’t lie. Tape doesn’t lie. To have somebody like that out there on the field that produces at a high rate like that, and even more impressively is a better guy off the field. Super selfless, super helpful, never holds anything back, always comes in with information to help you be a better player, it’s invaluable.”

What that’s worth

It feels like Huff’s value is rising with each passing week, especially as more and more people outside of the New York area catch on to his impressive pass-rushing skills. He’s started to back up his pressures with sacks too, getting 2 1/2 the last two weeks. In the offseason, multiple teams called the Jets about trading for Huff and Douglas declined overtures, even after drafting Will McDonald in the first round.

Douglas should look into signing Huff to a deal now. It wouldn’t be the first time he did something like that with a Jets defensive end. Douglas claimed Franklin-Myers off waivers in 2020 and then early in the 2021 season, when it became clear JFM was a keeper, signed him to a four-year, $55 million contract.

Another comparable edge rusher: Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat. In September 2021, the Eagles signed Sweat to a three-year, $40 million deal mostly based on his potential, then Sweat went and earned seven sacks and made the Pro Bowl that year. That might be the kind of money Huff would get in free agency, too.

Some other comparably young edge rushers who signed new deals in recent years: Saints’ Carl Granderson (four years, $52 million), Bengals’ Sam Hubbard (four years, $40 million), Colts’ Samson Ebukam (three years, $24 million) and Chiefs’ Charles Omenihu (two years, $16 million).

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(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

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