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Brett Hundley: UCLA Bruins QB a project worth investing in 2015 NFL Draft?

By James Thompson

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UCLA Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley has been the forgotten man for the 2015 NFL Draft with Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota the talk of the town, but there’s a good reason for this.

NFL Free Agency, where will Mariota land, do the Buccaneers want to go with Winston? These are the headlines currently dominating the NFL landscape. But I haven’t heard former UCLA Quarterback Brett Hundley’s name brought up once within the past month, and for good reason.

What sets Mariota and Winston apart from Hundley and others in the top quarterback conversation this offseason? If you ask me, it’s simply a matter of consistency. Hundley has shown flashes of premier quarterback talent, but flashes won’t get you drafted in the top 10.

Hundley is a project at the next level. Ideally, he lands with a team that has a seasoned veteran who will be on his way out soon similar to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a destination available that meets that criteria in this draft.

Brett Hundley/QB/UCLA/6’3 226 lbs.

This was Hundley’s first snap of the 2014 season and a representation of his potential because it’s almost a flawless sequence.

Hundley drops back, looks calm and collected in the pocket, recognizes his first read isn’t available, but keeps his eyes downfield, steps up and delivers a nice touch pass.

One thing that bothers me about Hundley is his throwing motion. He has a tendency to contort his body when making throws, especially under pressure, which takes some zip off his throws.

When getting pressured, Hundley generally struggles with his mechanics and footwork which causes him to throw some inaccurate passes. Once again, the gif above shows he’s able to thrive in high pressure situations, but he’s also very inconsistent.

Hundley’s athleticism and frame are essential to him evading pressure and extending plays. The play above may not seem impressive because he just made it back to the line of scrimmage, but any quarterback who can’t anticipate pressure like that and isn’t athletic enough to juke the pass rusher will be taking at least a five yard loss.

Although he can evade pressure, Hundley has a tendency to drop his eyes and take off with the ball rather than keeping his eyes downfield and looking for an open receiver.

Luckily, for Hundley, this is something that a little coaching will take care of. You can’t teach his athleticism and frame.

Hundley throws a beautiful back shoulder pass in the gif below which is one of the more difficult throws to make and tantalizes coaches wit his ability to make the difficult look routing.

Hundley watches the play develop in the next gif and shows great eye level as he puts impeccable placement on a ball thrown to his first read.

Placement, placement, placement. The above gif’s show Hundley at his best.

While these are great representations of how well Hundley can place a pass, he isn’t perfect. To go with the overarching theme of the post, Hundley is inconsistent with his accuracy, but when he’s on, he’s one of the best in the nation. Hundley also struggles with ball placement in the red zone and recognizing linebacker coverage.

Final Thoughts

Hundley won’t be able to come into the NFL and start day one like Mariota or Winston are expected to do, but he’s very coachable. Almost all of his shortcomings are things that he can improve on with coaching and learning from an established quarterback and offensive-oriented coaching staff.

After the Saints picked up the Seahawks first round pick in a trade last week for Jimmy Graham, Hundley seems like the perfect fit to develop under Drew Brees.

If Hundley can sit out for two or three years and eventually be Brees’ successor, I think he’ll be one of the better quarterbacks in the league in due time, but whoever drafts him will have to be patient to bring out his potential.

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