Brett Hundley is a polarizing draft prospect. Some NFL scouts believe that Hundley's lack of accuracy and ability to read a defense will lead to him being a bust. Others see a bright future for Hundley, comparing him to San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick.
The inconsistent views are likely a result of Hundley's inconsistent play. One moment, he makes a play that leaves you in awe of his arm strength and athleticism. The next, he throws an interception for a touchdown that you would not expect from a future NFL quarterback.
While it is impossible to predict exactly how Hundley's career will pan out, I have serious reservations about Hundley's long term potential. The talent is there. But I question whether he will be worth using a first or second round pick on, which is where he is currently projected to be drafted.
Let's break it down further by analyzing his strengths and weaknesses through his film.
Strengths:
Hundley has prototypical NFL size, standing at 6'3 226 pounds. He has high end athleticism and also has shown flashes of functional pocket mobility.
One thing that stood out when watching the tape is the similarities between what he was asked to do at UCLA and what he will be required to do in Chip Kelly's offense. The offenses are obviously different, especially in regard to the breakneck speed with which Chip Kelly operates. But the offense relied heavily on a read-option running game and bubble screens. Hundley's familiarity with some of the Eagles' concepts could make for an easier transition.
Hundley is also known for having a great work ethic. He has adopted the "first one in, last one to leave" approach, which is essential to being a successful NFL quarterback.
Let's break down the film.
First, from his game against Utah this year, watch as Hundley steps into his throw and uses the right amount of touch to thread the needle between the cornerback and safety.
You can see why scouts salivate over his potential when he makes throws like this.
He also has plenty of arm strength, as can be seen from this fantastic back shoulder throw in the same game.
Back shoulder throws are considered one of the hardest in the game to make. It requires perfect timing with the receiver and placement of the ball away from the defender. Hundley made a beautiful throw there.
This was, by far, the most impressive throw I saw while watching Hundley play. It wasn't just the throw, but his ability to look off the safety before throwing to the other side of the field. The ability to use your eyes to manipulate the defense is a skill that some pro quarterbacks struggle to obtain. The fact that Hundley is doing this in college is a very good sign.
Note that Hundley picked on another prospect the Eagles have shown an interest in: Eric Rowe.
Here is a better angle. Watch as he looks one direction and then quickly turns his hips and fires to the wide open receiver. Very impressive stuff from Hundley. Lastly, Hundley has very good athleticism which he uses to his advantage when a play breaks down. What I like most about this play is not how he escaped for the first down, but rather how he waited in the pocket for his receivers to get open, then escaped once he realized the play down field was not going to happen. Often times, running quarterbacks bail on a play too early, which leads to unnecessary hits. (Speaking of unnecessary hits, Hundley should have done a better job of avoiding the hit on this play).
Weaknesses:
Watching the above, it is easy to see why scouts and executives would consider taking Hundley in the first or second round.
But (and you knew there was going to be a but), Hundley is not consistent. His footwork at times can be a mess, and his accuracy from within the pocket is sporadic at best.
Moreover, while he has shown the ability to use his athleticism to avoid sacks, he is inconsistent in that regard. He was sacked an absurd 125 times in his three years at UCLA. Against Utah, he was sacked 10 times.
Let's take a look at some of his issues a little deeper.
First, let's start with his inconsistent accuracy. Against Arizona, he misses a wide open receiver, despite not being under any pressure.
Hundley did a great job stepping up into the pocket. But he just sailed this throw over a wide open receiver. It is rare in the NFL for a player to be that open. When they are, you simply cannot miss.
While Hundley can throw with great touch and accuracy, more often than not he struggles in that regard. Take, for instance, this attempted fade route against Arizona.
The ball placement on this throw is awful. It is too low and behind the wide receiver. If Hundley threw this higher the receiver would have had a chance. Hundley was lucky that this did not turn out to be an interception.
Sometimes, it is hard to illustrate when a player struggles reading a defense. However, his first throw against USC is a good example. Note that when the ball is snapped, the cornerback blitzes. Hundley reads this as man coverage, expecting the linebacker to stick with the receiver running the deep route down field. However, USC is in a zone. Hundley locks in on his receiver (another issue he has), which allowed the linebacker to know where Hundley is going with the football. This was a costly interception that could have been avoided if Hundley made a better pre-snap read.
I referenced before that Hundley sometimes struggles with his footwork. Here is a perfect illustration of what I mean. Notice how Hundley throws off his back foot, which caused the ball to sail on him.
This was a completely avoidable mistake. Hundley was not under any pressure (which is typically when quarterbacks throw off their back foot). He simply lacked consistency with his mechanics, and it cost his team.
Finally, Hundley does not have good pocket awareness and takes far too many sacks. As I mentioned before, Hundley was sacked 10 times against Utah. Not all of them were his fault. But here, you can see Hundley just holds onto the ball too long and takes an unnecessary hit.
Conclusion:
Hundley has a lot of skills to like. He has good size, a strong arm, and high end athleticism. He also has some experience with a zone-option running game and puts in the work needed to perfect his craft. He has shown flashes of being a functional thrower from the pocket. But he is still very raw, has inconsistent mechanics, and suspect accuracy. If Hundley was projected as a third or fourth round pick, I would be on board with the Eagles drafting him while giving him time to hone his technique. But Hundley is currently projected as a first or second rounder. The flaws I see in his game give me pause for concern that Hundley is worthy of that high of a selection. You simply cannot succeed in the NFL without being accurate from the pocket. If I am the Eagles, I would pass. .
Patrick Causey is a writer at Eagledelphia and can be followed on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
