NFL Draft: Brett Hundley Prepared to Show Improvement

California Freeway to the 2015 NFL Draft #2

This is the second installment in a series highlighting the players who played their football at USC and UCLA.

Quarterback Brett Hundley is a tremendous 6’3”, 226 lbs. athlete who is coming off of a solid career at UCLA / Westwood. He is a competitor… a dual-threat quarterback whose arms and legs accounted for 105 touchdowns as a Bruin.

Hundley was a three-year starter for the university. He completed 837 passes on 1,241 attempts resulting in 9,966 yards, 75 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. In addition to those passing stats, he rushed for 1,747 yards and 30 touchdowns. Hundley was at the helm when the Bruins’ offense ranked 23rd in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) averaging 467.8 yards per game.

In a weak 2015 NFL Draft quarterbacks class, Hundley is rated as the fourth-best signal-caller but he faces a lot of scrutiny from the scouting community. As a matter of fact, coming into the NFL Scouting Combine, several teams had mixed opinions of him, describing him as a player that needed to erase doubts about his game.

The UCLA alum missed an opportunity to establish himself as the third-best quarterback in the 2015 draft class by declining an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Although this may be true, the offer was turned down because of shoulder and elbow issues. Hundley rebounded by throwing the football and participating in all of the drills at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine.

To clarify, not one of the 32 teams that draft a quarterback in 2015 will be selecting a player that is a finished product. It is important to realize that in today’s NFL, either a team has a franchise quarterback or is in need of one. It is improvident not to draft a signal caller.

The five most critical traits to success at the most difficult position to play in all of sports (QB) are accuracy, reading defenses, arm strength, football intelligence and toughness. The average physical NFL specifications for a quarterback are height (6’3 3/8”), weight (223 lbs.) and speed (running at least a 4.81 40-yard dash). Brett Hundley stands 6’3” and weighs 226 lbs. He ran a 4.63 40-yard dash at the combine.

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Strengths:

Hundley is a physically impressive athlete that excelled in a short passing offense. The former Bruins quarterback has the toughness to stare down the gun-barrel and make a throw with a defender in his face. He can make all of the NFL throws and has above-average quickness to escape the pocket. He can maneuver in the pocket and is dangerous as a runner if he breaks containment; hence his 1,747 rushing yards and 30 career rushing touchdowns.

Weaknesses:

In UCLA’s offense, Hundley was protected with play-action passes, keeping linebackers and defensive backs at bay. He has not shown the ability to beat teams from the pocket however and has struggled at reading defenses, going through his progressions and consistently climbing up in the pocket while focusing downfield on his receivers. Hundley took 125 sacks in three years and was ineffective outside of the pocket, posting the lowest completion percentage in the Pac 12 Conference (32.5 percent).

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All things considered, Brett Hundley will get drafted and hear his name called on the second day of the draft. The team that does so will have to see the upside in his game and make the determination that Hundley is a solid college quarterback that, with some seasoning and NFL coaching, can make the transition and become a reliable pro quarterback.