WR have to understand their assignments for any passing offense to be successful. If Huff doesn't have speed to open the field up then his version of the air raid offense is going to look a lot like what we have been seening the last couple seasons, short passes to WRs that get hit immediately. To be successful an air raid offense has to have speed.
An air raid offense stretches the defense across the field. If the Defense is playing a zone then the QB keys in on a mismatch or a defender that is going to be forced to make a decision regarding which WR to cover in his zone. If the Defense is playing man coverage then the QB keys on any mismatch. Assuming the WRs know their routes and the defense has studied film, fast WRs are the key to beating man coverage and creating mismatches whether the defense is playing zone or man.
Air raid offenses space offensive linemen further apart which creates blitzing lanes, running lanes, and passing lanes, but also forces DTs and DEs to run further to get to the QB. The QB must get the ball out of his hands to the WRs quickly. Short passes are used to defeat any blitz but the WRs have to be fast enough to make the defense respect their speed an back up a step. Otherwise, the defense would blitz every down and jam the slow WRs at the LOS. WRs have to be fast enough to get down field before any blitz gets to the QB to effectively stretch the field and force the defense to defend the entire field.
QBs often get the glory in air raid offenses but the WRs and OL play very important roles. The OL has to be fast too due to the spacing at the LOS and blitzes. Who was it that said facing a no huddle air raid offense was like basketball on grass? Or something close to that.