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Pederson finds a way to make use of Huff

INDIANAPOLIS - If Josh Huff is to become a valuable contributor to the Eagles this season it will be because Doug Pederson found a way - unlike Chip Kelly - to utilize the wide receiver's ability to run with the ball in open space.

INDIANAPOLIS - If Josh Huff is to become a valuable contributor to the Eagles this season it will be because Doug Pederson found a way - unlike Chip Kelly - to utilize the wide receiver's ability to run with the ball in open space.

Saturday night's 33-23 preseason victory over the Colts offered a glimpse. Huff pulled in an intermediate pass over the middle and tacked on 20 yards or so after the catch. And he converted a short third down when he took a jet sweep handoff and scooted 9 yards around the corner for a touchdown.

"I wanted to get certain guys in certain situations and he was one of them," Pederson said of Huff, who finished with two catches for 60 yards. "He did a nice job obviously putting the ball in his hands and running it and then obviously throwing him some slants and intermediate stuff that he's very good at."

Huff's performance all but cemented his spot on the 53-man roster. The same can't be said for other Eagles receivers who once appeared to be locks - cough, Rueben Randle, cough - but now find themselves one preseason game from being released before Saturday's deadline.

Nelson Agholor has done little to secure a spot - he had another ghastly drop - but he's a first-round draft pick entering only his second season and will be given the benefit of youth. The Eagles also aren't about to release a player who would leave salary cap repercussions for the next three years.

The saving grace for the Eagles' maligned receiver group - aside from when Jordan Matthews returns from a knee injury - could be Dorial Green-Beckham. The recently acquired former Titan remains unpolished - as evidenced by a sloppily run route on his first play - but he also has a ceiling as high as that of any receiver on the team.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Green-Beckham pulled in a jump ball for a touchdown on a corner fade pass from quarterback Sam Bradford. It was all the Eagles could hope for in his second preseason game and with only a handful of plays committed to memory.

Chris Givens finally popped up in the stat sheet with a 19-yard grab on a third and 17. It was his first catch of the preseason and the first time Bradford attempted to throw beyond the sticks on third and long this preseason.

But on the next play, Agholor couldn't hang onto a Bradford toss that was a smidgeon behind the receiver. The ball caromed off his hands and hung in the air, and Colts cornerback Darius Butler had an interception. It was another oh-no-not-again moment for an Eagles offense that had failed to inspire in the first two preseason games.

"He threw a great ball," Agholor said. "I did one part of my responsibility. I saw man coverage and I tried to get flat, but at the end of the day I need to snap my head and be prepared for the football."

But Bradford and the first unit were sharp from that point until they left late in the third quarter. They scored 24 points and on four of six possessions over that span. It was an impressive showing but one that shouldn't be overstated - same as the first two woeful showings.

A year ago, Bradford was nearly perfect in the third preseason game against the Packers. Hyperbole followed. The Eagles were a darling Super Bowl pick. It took all of one regular-season game for reality to set in.

But Pederson's crew needed a confidence booster with the preseason finale a night off for the starters. Even if the Colts were without their starting cornerbacks, defensive ends, and weak-side linebacker, the way Bradford systemically picked apart the defense was noteworthy.

He had help. Huff's first two touches were instrumental in both of the Eagles' first two scores. Pederson had tried a few times to get the ball into Huff's hands against the Buccaneers and then the Steelers, primarily with bubble screen passes, but neither catch produced much.

He had another opportunity against the Bucs, but fumbled (the ball rolled out of bounds) during his run after the catch. He had hands of brick on a Bradford downfield throw in Pittsburgh.

No one will ever mistake Huff for Steve Smith. He isn't a reliable receiver. He sometimes runs awkward routes. And he doesn't always secure the ball, which is why the Eagles haven't turned him into a running back.

But Huff does have skills that are applicable to the NFL. He's fast and tough, and when given the ball in open space he can make defenders miss. The trick has been getting him the ball in the open. Kelly, to some surprise, didn't seem to know what to make of his former Oregon player. He pigeonholed Huff as an outside receiver, when all evidence suggested that he couldn't be effective outside the numbers.

Pederson seems to understand that Huff needs a package of plays that enable him to get the ball within five yards of the line of scrimmage. The jet sweep was a well-timed call by the first-year coach. The fake end- around that went to Huff later on was not. The execution was just as poor.

"What was doing in Kansas City is what they went me to do here," Huff said. "That's what I'm looking to do. ... Just try to expand my role as much as I can."

It should be noted that Bradford never went back to Agholor after his drop. The receiver played sparingly after the first quarter, but what he continues to need is more opportunities to play. But time is officially ticking on the 23-year-old receiver, if only because it was Kelly, and not Howie Roseman and Pederson, who drafted him.

If Matthews, Huff, Agholor, and Green-Beckham are guaranteed spots, that leaves one, maybe two openings left. Givens hasn't stood out in games or in practice. Randle, who has appeared uninspired, didn't play with the first-team offense until midway through the second quarter. He finished with two catches for 13 yards.

Undrafted rookie Paul Turner continues to make an underdog run for a roster spot. He caught two passes for 21 yards. He has soft hands and a nimble body, but getting separation at his size (5-10, 193) has been a struggle.

jmclane@phillynews.com

@Jeff_McLane