What Happened To Brett Hundley?
By Keith Rivas
As shocking as it sounds, the third-best quarterback available in the 2015 NFL Draft wasn’t picked up until a round five selection by the already-stacked Green Bay Packers.
Former UCLA Bruin Brett Hundley is that quarterback.
The Packers had their quarterback situation lined up for next season as they’ve had for a while now, but this will be some good room to learn for Hundley — whose hunger for big wins and the chance to prove those who passed on him wrong is only growing by the second.
After all, this kind of scenario is exactly where Aaron Rodgers found himself when he came out of of Cal Berkley.
And look at him now.
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After spending some serious time studying playbooks and getting familiar with the cheese head way of life, Rodgers fit the mold nearly perfectly once it was time for the green-and-gold to move on to life past Brett Favre.
Imagine if he hadn’t had that crucial time to grow?
Rodgers, too, was overlooked in his respective draft. Every other team except the Packers was willing to pass up on what would soon be a future Hall-of-Fame talent and a Super Bowl winner early on in his career.
In fact, the only quarterback to have a better kick start to a quarterback gig in the big leagues is Seattle Seahawks’ superstar Russell Wilson — but mind you, Seattle’s defense has played a big part in Wilson’s appearance in two of the last three Super Bowls.
Against, of all opponents, the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — with Wilson coming up literally a yard short of becoming 2-0 in those games.
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The good news for Hundley is that he will be able to take a back seat (as he should) to begin his career and learn the ropes before trying to learn by hand.
Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy told NFL.com that he understands the situation very well and is familiar with the fact that people want to be nothing but critical in times like this — but he’ll be staying focused on making Hundley the Aaron Rodgers right-hand man.
Or even better, the next big thing in cheese city.
The Packers were just a game short of getting a one-on-one shot at another Super Bowl via a rematch with Tom Brady and the Patriots but unfortunately saw a 22-7 lead with two minutes to go evaporate — for lack of a better term.
I mean, it literally slipped through their fingers.
Jan 18, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews (13) recovers an onside kick that bounces off the helmet of Green Bay Packers tight end Brandon Bostick (86) as receiver Jordy Nelson (87) and fullback John Kuhn (30) react in the NFC Championship at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Packers 28-22 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
One more completion or one more minute off the clock that the Packers’ offense could have put out would’ve completely changed the game and not given Russell Wilson (of all people, right?) the time he needed (or really, luck needed) to come through and play Cinderella.
Because after all, this is football — not a fairy tale or a miracle.
Consistent with the winning culture that both McCarthy and Rodgers have furnished in Wisconsin, it’s more than just about football for them — it’s about family. Without team chemistry, there’s no way that Green Bay will find themselves anywhere close to where they came just a season ago and the top leaders on the team know that.
The good news for them is that Hundley is a team player.
Bottom Line: Hundley is hungry to win big and win now
Once things start to get a real groove going on, there’s no question Hundley will get his chance under center, particularly in the pre-season games. And now that all of the pressure won’t be squarely on Rodgers’ shoulders to be the sole gunslinger, there’s a very good chance that we just witnessed (or really allowed) Green Bay to get that more dangerous.
Watch out NFL, here comes Hundley.