Any team lacking a true QB1 that is picking No. 15 or lower in the 2023 NFL Draft needs to take a long look at former Tennessee Volunteers signal-caller Hendon Hooker. He has his flaws, but on the field, they are no worse than any of the top quarterback prospects. His are just different. Hooker has ideal size, mobility, and arm strength, and he played in two different offenses during his college career — albeit one was eternally run-heavy at Virginia Tech.
The hang-up on Hooker, even more than playing in Josh Heupel’s quarterback-friendly offense, is his age. He turned 25 years old in January. The NFL has been skittish about drafting quarterbacks that age and up for many years. The concern is both wear and tear on a body closer to 30 years old than college freshman, and also the lack of upside. At 25 years old a quarterback should be starting to realize his potential. Teaching a player at that age the professional game would require an organization to be patient with a player up until he is at least 28 years old.
Why put a serious investment in a collegiate player in his mid-20s when the option to select someone younger and be naturally more patient with is always available? Also, Hooker has a second ding against him. He tore an ACL in November 2022.
Writing off Hooker is easy for front office executives is an easy decision, as opposed to the risk of selecting him in which the consequence can be termination. However, even with the red flags Hooker is still reportedly high on many draft boards, and will likely be a first-round pick. Per Next Gen Stats, Hooker has the second-best draft score of all quarterbacks in the draft, trailing only Bryce Young.
In ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s final mock draft, he has the Los Angeles Rams trading into the first round to select him. The reason for all of this buzz, Hooker is an extraordinarily talented football player.
Not the same as his late-20s QB predecessors
Hooker is not Chris Weinke or Brandon Weeden. Those two spent a college football career playing professional baseball. They later returned to football and put up huge statistics at their respective schools. Hell, Weinke won a Heisman Trophy at Florida State. However, they spent years away from the game, and benefited from loaded offenses. Hooker was on a major college football roster immediately after his high-school graduation and only received a fifth year of eligibility because of an airborne virus that shut down the world.
Hooker redshirted his freshman year at VT. Over the next two years, he was not able to firmly attach himself to the starting quarterback job in an offense that averaged 43 carries per game. He did not begin either the 2019 or 2020 season as Virginia Tech’s starter. In 2020 he rushed for more than 600 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry but he wasn’t able to keep the QB1 job even after winning it back.
In early 2021, Hooker transferred to Tennessee. Again, he would not be named Week 1 starter. When starter Joe Milton got hurt in Week 2, Hooker never let go of the spot after completing 71.4 percent of his passes and throwing for two touchdowns.
During Hooker’s two years at Tennessee, he never threw more than three interceptions or averaged less than 9.5 yards per attempt in a season. In 2022, Hooker led Tennessee to its first double-digit win season since 2007 and might have won the Heisman Trophy had he not suffered that ACL injury in the second to last game of the regular season.
Tennessee’s offense was a weekly highlight reel, led by Hooker putting the ball on pass catchers’ number, hip, high-point spot, wherever it needed to be on deep balls. He was also still a significant contributor in the running game with 430 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
As well as he played in 2022, Hooker is not perfect. Heupel’s offense only requires a quarterback to read half of the field, so Hooker is going to have to become comfortable going farther into his progressions. Also, his intermediate accuracy needs work — arguably the most important depth to master in the NFL.
For whatever work he needs at 25 years old, do not forget that Hooker pulled off a Patrick Mahomes moment last season. He led Tennessee into scoring position in only 15 seconds, allowing the Vols to defeat Alabama for the first time since 2006 — the year before Nick Saban took over as head coach.
For those who want to shy away from Hooker because of his age, turned off by flaws in his game, or an injury that should not prevent him from being healthy for Week 1, it appears though that the NFL is well aware of the talent that Hooker possesses. So fans out there of teams picking in the middle of the first round that need a quarterback, rub your lucky rabbit’s foot and hope that your squad makes a smart choice.