ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Like Jameson Williams last year, intriguing Detroit Lions draft pick Hendon Hooker can’t do much during his first offseason in the pros.
And yet, Lions quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell said at the end of mandatory minicamp the No. 68 pick’s “great work ethic” is already on full display.
“If he didn’t have (a great work ethic), he wouldn’t be here. He’s a smart player, puts the time in. … The most important thing is him getting strong and healthy,” Brunell said.
“But I’m really pleased with him. As far as the meetings are concerned, we throw a bunch of questions at those rookies and try to put them in a tough spot. And he always does a very good job, and it’s very clear that he’s putting the time in.”
In 2022, Hooker led the Tennessee Volunteers to their best season in more than 20 years, throwing for 3,135 yards with a 27-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio before suffering a torn ACL in a late-November loss to South Carolina.
Hooker was already one of the oldest quarterbacks in his draft class (he’ll turn 26 in January), but is still a talent that likely would have gone in the first round under other conditions. He slid to the Lions in the third round after a scary injury entered the equation.
Toward the end of mandatory minicamp, Hooker could be seen dropping dimes to Trinity Benson after practice, which represents a bit of progress in the rehab process. And while he won’t be putting pads on any time soon, there’s still plenty for him to do at a position that so heavily depends on information processing.
So far, Hooker has excelled in the learning portion.
“It’s really hard. There’s some guys that do very well in the classroom but yet it doesn’t translate on the field. We don’t expect him to be that at all, because we’ve seen him play in college at a very high level,” Brunell said. “We can’t wait to get him on the field. But right now, he’s doing everything that we’re asking him to do and he’s doing it quite well.”
Maintaining Goff
Starting quarterback Jared Goff is entering his eighth season in the NFL, but much like Hooker, he’s got a laundry list of things to do to get better this offseason. Coming off the best season of his career, Brunell said the next step for Goff is being the best version of himself over 17 consecutive games.
“What he did well last year was his decision-making. In that stretch we made, he was just taking care of the ball, being smart with the football,” Brunell said. “So, continuing that, that’s at the top of the list. And I think he’ll do that.”
Goff accumulated a streak of 324 straight passes without throwing an interception to close the season. While protecting the ball is something Brunell values, he doesn’t want his starter playing scared, either.
“We’re trying to win games, not break NFL records. If you take care of the football as a quarterback, you’re gonna win football games,” Brunell said.
When it comes to preparing Goff for the season, the team’s roster has one built-in accelerator that it didn’t have in years past: Elite competition in the secondary. The emergence of ball-hawking safety Kerby Joseph, plus the addition of players like Cam Sutton and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, have the offense working much harder in 2023.
“This spring was tougher than it was last spring, might be the best way to put it. There’s some really good players on that side of the ball and that defense is only gonna get better and better,” Brunell said.
“With the new additions, the defense has been a challenge because it’s tough to separate against those guys, and it’s been a fun part of this spring, going against guys that have a lot of talent and a lot of experience.”
