The Cleveland Browns - facing a grim, Johnny Manziel-led reality - are searching high and low at the NFL scouting combine to find the next face of their franchise, the next great leader of men.
The Browns brass are in Indianapolis for the NFL's annual draft meat market and are, no doubt, paying close attention to the highly touted quarterback prospects that will be available in the 2015 NFL Draft come April in the hopes that at least one, if not several of the soon-to-be NFLers, end up on the Cleveland roster come training camp.
While much of the Browns talk leading up to the draft has, thus far, focused on Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota - and for good reason, they're both extremely impressive and expected to go within the first few selections - there may be another more realistic name for Cleveland fans to focus their draft adoration on - UCLA QB Brett Hundley.
Hundley, widely viewed as the third-ranked signal-caller behind Winston and Mariota, was a player the Cleveland brain trust reportedly had its eye on with a high selection in last year's draft and is a guy that could again be drawing their focus.
"So much Jameis Winston-Marcus Mariota talk. But don't sleep on UCLA's Brett Hundley, whom Browns would have considered in top 10 last year," Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted.
While Hundley has no chance of unseating either Winston or Mariota, he did himself a big favor with his work at the combine on Saturday, according to Jim Corbett of USA Today.
"Hundley displayed good accuracy especially on his effortless deep throws that gave his receivers a chance to run under the ball," writes Corbett. "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."
The 6-foot-3, 227-pound Hundley has a pro body and significant athleticism - Rotoworld and NBC NFL Draft Analyst Josh Norris noted that Hundley set a short-shuttle mark for quarterbacks that hadn't been touched since 2006 - but has come under fire for the number of sacks he took in college as well as his general lack of production.
The combine, though, is often where prospects are able to set themselves apart from their peers and answer questions, sometimes literally, about specific aspects of their game. Tony Pauline of Draft Insider reported that Hundely has been "impressive" during his interviews with teams and has come across as "articulate, intelligent" and "a leader."
While Hundley's stock probably isn't as high as it would have been had he come out last year, meaning a top-10 consideration isn't in the cards, those traits are something fans of the Browns - as well as coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer - would probably be happy to hear associated with their supposed franchise quarterback after the abysmal reign of ineffectiveness that has been the Johnny Manziel era to date.
While the 12th and 19th selections in the first-round almost assuredly won't go towards nabbing Hundley, a second-round pick, or perhaps a trade back from 19 could land the former Bruin in Cleveland.
