UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley is a Phoenix-area native and has said it would be a "dream come true" to play for the Arizona Cardinals. He should be happy, then, that he has a workout set up with the Cardinals.
ESPN.com reported that Hundley, who attended high school in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, has a private workout scheduled with Arizona.
The Cardinals would seem to be in the market for a young quarterback to develop behind Carson Palmer, who turned 35 in December.
Arizona picks 24th in the first round, but taking Hundley at that spot would be a reach. The Cardinals pick 23rd in the second round, which is 55th overall, and that is in line with the general area that Hundley is expected to come off the board. With quarterbacks, though, you never know, especially this year, when there is no clear-cut order behind the top two of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.
Hundley (6-foot-3 1/4, 226 pounds) was an effective three-year starter running a version of the spread offense at UCLA. He holds the school record for TD passes (75) and total yards (11,677) and is second in school history, to Cade McNown, with 10,708 passing yards.
Still, he doesn't seem to fit the mold of a Bruce Arians quarterback. While he is athletic and mobile and is a definite running threat, Hundley can struggle in the pocket and was sacked 125 times in three seasons. Some of that can be blamed on UCLA's inconsistent offensive line, but Hundley should share the blame, as he is slow going through his progressions. In addition, NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein noted that a slight majority of Hundley's passing attempts in 2014 came on patterns of 6 or fewer yards, and almost 30 percent came on throws to targets behind the line of scrimmage.
In short, analysts say Hundley is going to need time to develop, a notion that UCLA coach Jim Mora seems to share.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
