Any team lacking a true QB1 picking No. 15 or lower in 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’re no worse than any of the top quarterback prospects. They are just different. Hooker possessed ideal size, mobility and arm strength, and he played in two different offenses during his college career – though one was perpetually heavy at Virginia Tech.
Hanging on Hooker even more than playing in Josh Heupel’s quarterback-friendly offense is his age. He turned 25 in January. The NFL has been concerned about drafting quarterbacks that age and for many years. The concern is both wear and tear on a body closer to 30 years than a college freshman, and lack of upside. At 25, quarterbacks should be starting to realize their potential. Teaching a player to play professionally at that age would require an organization to be patient with a player until he is at least 28 years old.
Why make a serious investment in a collegiate player in his mid-20s when there is always the option of choosing someone younger and naturally more patient? Plus, Hooker has a second ding against him. He tore an ACL in November 2022.
It is easy for a front office executive to write off a hooker, an easy decision as opposed to the risk of selecting him, which could result in dismissal. However, even with the red flags the hooker is still reportedly high On many draft boards, and would likely be a first round pick. According to Next Gen Stats, Hooker has the second best draft score of all quarterbacks in the draft, behind only Bryce Young.
In the final mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper, he had Los Angeles Rams trading in the first round to choose him. The reason for all this talk, Hooker is an exceptionally talented football player.
Not the same as their late 20s QB predecessors
Hooker is not Chris Weinke or Brandon Weeden. They both spent a college football career playing professional baseball. They later returned to football and put up great statistics at their respective schools. Hell, Weinke won the Heisman Trophy at Florida State. However, he spent years away from the game, and benefited from loaded offenses. Hooker was on a major college football roster shortly after his high-school graduation and received his fifth year of eligibility due to an airborne virus that shut down the world.
Hooker redshirted his freshman year at VT. Over the next two years, he was never able to firmly attach himself to the starting quarterback job in an offense that averaged 43 carries per game. He did not begin the 2019 or 2020 season as Virginia Tech’s starter. In 2020 he rushed for over 600 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry, but he was not able to keep the QB1 job after winning it back.
In early 2021, Hooker transferred to Tennessee. Again, he would not be named the Week 1 starter. When starter Joe Milton suffered an injury in Week 2, Hooker never let go of the opportunity, 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 an ACL injury in the second to last game of the regular season Was.
Tennessee’s offense was a weekly highlight reel, led by Hooker putting the ball to pass catchers’ number, hip, high-point spots wherever he needed to be on deep balls. He was also a significant contributor in the running game with 430 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
As he played in 2022, hookers are not perfect. Heupel’s offense only required the quarterback to read half the field, so Hooker would have to be comfortable moving in his stride. In addition, his intermediate accuracy needs work – arguably the most important depth to master in the NFL.
Whatever the job he needs at 25, don’t forget that Hooker had a Patrick Mahomes moment last season. He put Tennessee in scoring position with only 15 seconds remaining, 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 walk away from Hooker because of his age, a flaw in his game, or an injury that shouldn’t have happened prevent him from recovering for week 1, IIt doesn’t seem like the NFL is well aware of the talent Hooker possesses. So fans out there The number of teams that need a quarterback picking in the middle of the first round, Rub your lucky rabbit’s foot and hope your team makes a smart choice.