With less than 50 days remaining until the start of the 2023 NFL Draft, ESPN has released a new quarterback power rankings list based on results from the 2022 season, the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl, and the 2023 NFL Combine earlier this month.
Despite not being able to participate on the field, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has been a big topic of conversation in the last few months.
Hooker’s final season at Tennessee resulted in 3,135 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Hooker also led the NCAA in quarterback rating at 89.5 while leading Tennessee to five ranked wins on the year. However, through all the accomplishments, Hooker also suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the second-to-last game of the regular season against South Carolina.
Hooker quickly underwent surgery in November to start the road to recovery before the NFL Draft. Now, since then, that aforementioned recovery has seemingly been going well.
In late January while at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Hooker is off of crutches moving forward and that he believes he “should” be running by the end of March and will be ready for training camp.
ESPN analyst Jordan Reid complied his Top 15 NFL Draft quarterbacks list on Friday, with Hendon Hooker landing as the No. 5 QB prospect in the draft class.
Hooker lands behind No. 1 Bryce Young (Alabama), No. 2 C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), No. 3 Anthony Richardson (Florida), and No. 4 Will Levis (Kentucky). Hooker defeated Young, Richardon, and Levis in games this past season.
“The pilot of a high-flying offense, Hooker was one of the biggest risers of the 2022 season,” Reid wrote. “He has above-average arm strength, and his accuracy improved over the past two seasons. A poised passer who can decipher and deliver with anticipation, he finished the season with 3,135 passing yards, 27 touchdown throws and only 2 interceptions. He’s also an underrated runner (430 rushing yards, five more scores), showcasing timely scrambles outside of the pocket that help him take advantage of voids in defenses.”
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Reid’s projection has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an ideal fit for the former Tennessee signal caller.
“This fit makes a lot of sense for Hooker, though, because of his maturity and the average age of the roster,” Reid wrote. “It would be ideal for him to step into an environment with a roster built to contend as opposed to a rebuilding scenario. The Tampa Bay offense still has a set of vertical playmakers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and Hooker’s skill set fits well with newly hired offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ scheme.
The big knock on Hooker, according to Reid and many other analysts alike, is his age at 25 years old. While it’s understandable that NFL teams are desperate for 10-year quarterbacks with their franchise, it also feels like a little bit of a myth that Hooker is “too old” to be drafted so high. NFL teams, realistically, should expect five to six good to great years of a quarterback. Obviously, some have more than that, but we’re talking five to six years at an elite level. That’s the hope and prayer when drafting a player.
That would put Hooker in his early 30s at the latest, which is around where someone like Dallas’s Dak Prescott (29 years old) is currently at.
While age is a rightful talking point, it shouldn’t be a full-on deciding factor.
Jordan Reid projects Hooker, 6-foot-3, 217-pounds, to be a late Day 2 prospect.
The 2023 NFL Draft will begin on Thursday, April 27, from Kansas City.
One Response
Ranked below Richardson and Levis ,that’s a joke correct?????NO WAY