Third best quarterback of NFL combine is Brett Hundley
INDIANAPOLIS – Brett Hundley seemed to cement himself as the third quarterback in this draft with Saturday's impressive scouting combine throwing performance that may have boosted him into the late first round.
The surprise guy among the "other" quarterback group that doesn't include top two prospects Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota?
That would be Brandon Bridge, the Toronto native. Nicknamed "Air Canada" because he played at Alcorn State -- home of the late Steve "Air" McNair.
Bridge flashed a strong, NFL-caliber arm, snapping his passes with impressive ease as a likely developmental project worth of a late-round pick.
Hundley and Bridge, who played the last two seasons at South Alabama, were the quarterback standouts in the morning group.
Hundley displayed good accuracy especially on his effortless deep throws that gave his receivers a chance to run under the ball. Hundley's most impressive throw came on his final shot, a perfectly-thrown 50-yard, corner-post that hit former Michigan receiver Devin Funchess in stride as he tapped his feet before falling out of bounds.
Hundley has a sturdy pro body, but his weakness was that he wasn't always throwing on balance off his five, and seven-step drop backs.
The 6-3, 227 Hundley ran a 4.63 second, 40-yard dash earlier, reinforcing the athleticism that have scouts intrigued by the UCLA dual-threat shotgun spread quarterback's upside.
Hundley skipped the Senior Bowl due to shoulder and elbow issues but he carried a chip on his shoulder into the combine, driven to disprove the notion that this quarterback class is a weak one that takes a dramatic tumble after Winston and Mariota.
"We're going to have to prove them wrong," Hundley said. "Obviously, me, Jameis, Mariota, Bryce Petty, Garrett Grayson make up a great quarterback class. I think not only myself. But we're all ready to show the nation that we're better than maybe people think us to be."
The only Canadian-born quarterbacks to make the league to date are former Washington Redskins Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien and former New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers backup Jesse Palmer.
So how did Bridge come by his colorful sobriquet?
"The way I got that nickname is that the fans at Alcorn State compared me to Steve "Air" McNair and because I was from Canada," Bridge said. "When people didn't know my name, they just called me 'Canada.' And so people just made it 'Air Canada.'
"Little did they know that's the name of a Canadian airline."
The 6-4, 235 Bridge is raw as underscored by his 52.1 completion percentage last season. His unbalanced footwork showed up when he threw incomplete on three of four go routes. He also overshot some passes in going 2 of 4 on the post corner route at the end that stress tests a quarterback's mechanics.
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