UCLA Football: Five Bruins to watch in the 2017 NFL preseason

Brett Hundley

A name that no UCLA Football fan could forget, Brett Hundley led the charge to bring the Bruins back to relevance during his time at UCLA. Using his arm and his legs, Hundley was the spark the Bruins needed and a perfect match for the Noel Mazzone offense.

As a red-shirt freshman Hundley was a stud throwing for 29 scores and running for another nine. With the idea that he was only going to get better, UCLA Football fans were giddy.

The thing is, Hundley didn’t develop as a passer the way we hoped for in large part to the former offensive staff. In fact his passing touchdowns fell while his running scores continued to climb and he was never able to duplicate the amount of passing yards he had as red-shirt freshman.  No surprise then that despite his stats, Hundley fell to the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft before the Green Bay Packers selected him.

When that happened all I could think was “what better place for him to learn the ins and outs of playing QB”. Sitting behind Aaron Rodgers and having Mike McCarthy as a head coach was probably the best thing that could have happened to Hundley in his pro career.

But why am I so interested in watching Hundley this preseason? Trade value.

If Hundley has a big preseason with the Packers looking to keep Rodgers fresh, he could draw plenty of interest from around the league. If that’s the case, his potential trade value or even his leverage this coming off-season will go through the roof.

Then there’s the chance that the Packers keep him. Given how hyped up people are getting about the 2018 QB class, the likelihood that Hundley re-signs is slightly more probable. Remember Rodgers sat behind legendary Brett Favre for a few seasons before getting the chance to start and Hundley could be next in that line.

This 2017 preseason will be vital to whatever happens next for Hundley.