From the days of the 2023 Senior Bowl, it was consistently discussed about Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker being a fit with the Detroit Lions. In Mobile, it was no secret that the Lions loved the Tennessee quarterback.
If it weren’t for a torn ACL against South Carolina in November, there’s a good chance that Hooker would have ended up winning the Heisman Trophy. However, he was forced to overcome the injury. He’s projected to be ready by the start of the regular season.
Coming out of Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, Hooker was a 4-star recruit (per 24/7 Sports). He had offers from schools such as Notre Dame and Oregon but he ended up committing to Virginia Tech. After two seasons as a starter for the Hokies, he transferred to Tennessee and his career really took off. Let’s jump into some tape and go over what Hendon Hooker provides for the Detroit Lions as the 68th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft!
Reads the field and hits the crosser
One thing I noticed right away when watching Hendon Hooker in the pocket is the poise and how he never panics. He plays under control and has a fluid lower half. Looking comfortable when throwing over the middle of the field, I believe that Hooker will be able to excel when throwing dig routes, high-lo concepts and crossing patterns. According to PFF, he went 83-for-119 (69.7%) for 959 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. These were throws in the middle of the field between 0-20 yards.
As you watch the play above from Hendon Hooker against Florida, he quickly looks right before flipping his hips and shoulders to the middle of the field. Coming off the fake hand-off from the running back, his eyes redirect to the crossing route over the middle of the field. He fires this in there for a completion and it leads to a first down.
Deep Ball Specialist
Go back to the live broadcast of when Hendon Hooker was selected by the Lions and you’ll hear Louis Riddick talk highly about the deep ball throws from Hooker. Put on the tape and he’s not wrong. Per PFF, Hooker earned a 93.4 grade on deep throws (20+ yards). He completed just over 44% of his passes for 1,219 yards with 13 touchdowns and one interception.
Looking at the play above, the Tennessee offense comes out 2×2. On the left side of the formation, the wide receiver aligned in the slot (on the numbers) runs a hitch-n-go. While running deep down the field, he makes a great adjustment to the football it’s slightly placed on his outside shoulder. Regardless, Hooker places the football to a place where only the receiver can make the catch. Sometimes a quarterback just needs a receiver to make a play.
Rushing ability can provide an impact
We don’t know if Hendon Hooker will play any significant snaps at quarterback this season for the Lions. One thing is for sure is that it wouldn’t be surprising if the offensive coordinator Ben Johnson sprinkles him in for some designed quarterback runs in the red-zone.
During his two seasons with Tennessee, Hooker had 1277 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. One of the key things he’ll have to work on is the amount of times he fumbles the football. He had 18 fumbles over the last two seasons and all together, he had 34 in his career (per PFF).
Looking at the play above, you’ll see a designed quarterback run for Hendon Hooker and he makes it look easy. While it may look like a broken play, it’s not. There was no hesitation from Hooker when taking the snap and he was simply off to the races. His mobility is intriguing because not only can he run the football but he should be able to extend drives beyond the pocket due to his feet. This skill-set isn’t something the Lions have had in quite some time.
Overall Thoughts
When the conversation came up about finding a quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft, Brad Holmes never steered away from the idea. He did the same with the running back position. While I can’t look through his eyes and see the vision as clear as he can, I do understand what he’s trying to build.
While I might go left on a certain pick and he goes right, one thing is for sure and we should all agree on the Hendon Hooker selection. It was known that the Lions were looking into the quarterbacks in free agency and in this draft. So none of this should be surprising.
Hendon Hooker (QB 5 – Tennessee) is an intriguing 6-4 & 218 pound QB with 26 starts between Va Tech and Tennessee. He’ll be 25 as a rookie in the NFL but the ball jumps out of his hand. Watch him here as he puts his mobility on display with a nasty spin move & leg drive to score. pic.twitter.com/GiY8vVQPrq
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) June 1, 2022
With Hendon Hooker, they could be looking at their next starting quarterback, or they could have good competition and reliability behind Jared Goff. Regardless, it’s intriguing and makes sense.
It’ll be interesting if there are any limitations with Hendon Hooker as he returns from a torn ACL. However, if he’s anything like the player we saw before the injury, he could very well earn himself the starting job at some point in his career in Detroit. It’s worth noting that Jared Goff has two years left on his current contract, but the Lions could opt out of his contract after this season and save about $10 million dollars in dead cap money.
#Vols QB Hendon Hooker takes a shot but stands strong in the pocket and delivers a nice pass deep downfield to an open WR. There was some miscommunication between the secondary but nice job by Hooker on this one. pic.twitter.com/CyQTmzPLgq
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 30, 2021
For that to happen, the Lions will need to see continued improvements on the knee from Hooker and with how he performs on the field. When watching his tape, he’s a very good passer that operates in rhythm consistently. His footwork is clean and consistent. Meanwhile, I loved how he would stand in the pocket and take hits from a blitzing linebacker.
Overall, there’s much to be desired with Hendon Hooker as a quarterback. Add in the way that they were able to move back multiple times, add draft capital for the third day of the 2023 NFL Draft and still get him. That’s impressive. All of our fingers are crossed that he comes back healthy and gives the Lions options beyond Jared Goff.
