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Green Bay Packers high on Brett Hundley’s mental game

By Keegan Matheson

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Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Hundley plays a style of football that is all too rarely associated with a strong mental game. His top-shelf athleticism overshadows a hunger for Xs and Os that has turned some heads in the Green Bay Packers locker room, including his mentor Aaron Rodgers.

Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin details the relationship between the two, which seems to be a far cry from the early days of Rodgers and Brett Favre. Rodgers kept in contact with Hundley throughout the offseason, and was immediately impressed with the borderline bizarre amount of work the rookie had been putting in.

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“I said, ‘Hey, what are you up to?’ And he kind of gave me his schedule – and it was impressive,” Rodgers said of his text exchanges with the rookie. “I don’t know why he was doing this, but he was waking up at like 6 in the morning in the offseason.” The former NFL MVP likes what he sees. “It’s great. He’s a great kid. He’s progressed a lot.”

Hundley, described as a “football nerd” by Packers director of player personnel Eliot Wolf, continues to draw my attention as one of the most interesting Green Bay players in training camp. He’s a piece that fits strangely into this puzzle, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. With coach Mike McCarthy now able to dedicate more time to projects such as Hundley and the quarterback’s willingness to learn, his long-term progression could develop him into a valuable asset, either on the field or in the trade market.

Despite falling much lower in the 2015 NFL Draft than he expected, Hundley is seeing the silver lining to landing in Green Bay. “Sometimes I feel like quarterbacks, when they don’t have somebody to learn from, you don’t know what you don’t know. And that keeps you in your same ways until you’re around somebody who can teach you what you don’t know.” In Rodgers, he now has one of the most accomplished mentors in football, and one who is familiar with his position on the depth chart.

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With Rodgers unlikely to eat up too many preseason snaps, look for Hundley to see a decent amount of work behind backup Scott Tolzien. Fellow quarterback Matt Blanchard has made some noise in camp himself, which we shouldn’t dismiss, but Hundley’s potential ceiling remains much greater than that of his opponent.

Hundley’s internal clock will be the primary trait I watch early in the preseason, and I’m hoping to see him tested with some backfield pressure when he does see the field. Hundley struggled to get rid of the football at times with UCLA and took a great deal of sacks. Like Rodgers has been guilty of in the past, Hundley’s belief in his ability to create a play can sometimes be his downfall.

My second suggestion while watching Hundley this August will be to focus on his natural throwing motion on passes of ten yards or more. His time at UCLA saw him rack up an impressive completion percentage, but that number was padded by quick-hitting throws and dump-off passes. With his natural athleticism, many of these throws did not require for Hundley to set his feet, square his shoulders or follow through with complete mechanics. A backyard flick of the wrist, and off it went.

His in-pocket mechanics will be critical to determining his NFL success, and will be the largest hurdle he needs to clear. I’ll never call for the Packers to tame Hundley by keeping him inside the pocket, but it’s necessary for him to be able to succeed while he’s there. Green Bay has seen the mental prowess of their rookie, and beginning Thursday night, Hundley will have his opportunity to show the complete package.

Next: Packers relying heavily on a healthy Clay Matthews

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