There’s a new quarterback getting some first-round buzz ahead of the 2023 NFL draft and that’s great news for the Kansas City Chiefs.
When speaking about first-round quarterback prospects in the upcoming draft, Alabama QB Bryce Young, Ohio State QB CJ Stroud, Florida QB Anthony Richardson, and Kentucky QB Will Levis have dominated the conversation over the last several months. But now, Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker is picking up some steam as a potential first-round draft pick.
Hooker, 25, is coming off a season where he tore his ACL, but only after completing career-high marks in completions (229), yards (3,135) and touchdowns (27) in 11 games played with the Volunteers. He has spent the pre-draft process dispelling any of the negative connotations surrounding Tennessee’s offense. He’s reportedly impressed in pre-draft meetings with teams and he’s taking a top-30 visit with the New Orleans Saints this week.
The Chiefs, obviously, don’t have a need for adding a player at the quarterback position early in the draft thanks to star QB Patrick Mahomes. Being that the team is drafting at the bottom of the first round, they’ll want as many quarterbacks as possible to be selected in the top 30 picks. It only increases the likelihood that a prospect at a position of need could fall to you at pick No. 31. Perhaps a blue-chip player could even into range for a trade-up in the first round of the draft.
Whether these quarterbacks turn out to be good players in the NFL or not doesn’t really matter. Kansas City fans should be hoping that each of Young, Stroud, Richardson, Levis and Hooker finds their NFL home before the Chiefs find themselves on the clock on April 27.
