Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker enters the 2023 NFL Draft as an intriguing option for teams looking to the future, and his stock may not be affected to any significant degree by a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered last November.
It has been a winding road for Hooker, a three-star prep recruit who redshirted the 2017 season with Virginia Tech. He’d appear in six games the next year, rushing for a 69-yard touchdown, and Hooker would take over as the starter for eight games in 2019. The dual-threat quarterback started seven of eight contests in 2020’s pandemic-shortened season before exploding in ’21 after transferring to Tennessee and making strides as a sixth-year senior in 2022. The new transfer rules and COVID-19 exemption granted Hooker six years of eligibility.
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 217 pounds
40 time: N/A
Hooker earned Associated Press, Coaches and USA TODAY first-team All-SEC and SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors for his performance a season ago. CBS Sports named him to the second-team All-American, and he was an AP third-team All-American. Known for his scholastic prowess, intelligence, accuracy, and ball security, Hooker is a candidate for being selected in the late first round.
Table: Hendon Hooker stats (2018-22)
*includes postseason/bowl games (stats from Sports Reference)
Pros
- Accuracy and touch — can hit moving targets over the middle as well as drop it into a bucket down the field. Throws a catchable deep ball with the correct trajectory
- Prior to the ACL tear, Hooker was a plus-athlete whose mobility made defenses play honestly — given the success today of knee reconstruction operations, he should be back to normal for Year 2
- Highly efficient and productive as a passer and runner the last two years
- Looks off safeties and sees the field well
- Protects the ball with the best of them and set the school record for 261 consecutive throws without an interception
- NFL-caliber size and arm talent
- Highly intelligent on and off the field — can absorb complex systems and is a leader by example
- Strong mechanics and footwork
- Natural feel for pocket pressure — climbs and also escapes as needed
Cons
- Old for a rookie at 25 and is poised to redshirt in 2023 after the ACL tear
- How much did he benefit from a timing-based offense that isolated his reads to half of the field? Wasn’t asked to go deep into progressions
- His focus seems to shift dramatically when flushed outside — mechanics get sloppy at times his eyes don’t stay affixed down the field
- Occasionally holds the ball too long, which is likely a product of his mobility more so than a mental clock deficiency
- Closer to a game manager than a gunslinger
Fantasy football outlook
Hooker’s situation is unique. Not too many quarterbacks offer his balanced traits, and fewer are coming off a catastrophic knee injury as they enter an age-25 rookie season. In 2023 leagues, expect him to sit virtually all of the year, unless he’s drafted to a team that is out of the hunt in December and wants to see what he can do ahead of 2024.
In all likelihood, Hooker will be an inconsistently solid fantasy asset throughout his career. The window for elite play is narrower than most, which should factor into your dynasty intentions. Getting drafted by Seattle behind Geno Smith at No. 20 or 37th overall makes sense, and Minnesota would be a landing spot of interest as Kirk Cousins‘ heir apparent.
Hooker will be at his best behind a strong line in a West Coast-themed offense that asks him to be a glorified game manager.
