Could Hendon Hooker be staying in the Volunteer State by the end of the 2023 NFL Draft?
One NFL personality says yes.
With the NFL Draft just around the corner on Apr. 27, many are putting together their final few mock draft projections for the big event that will be held in Kansas City.
Peter Schrager, a host for NFL’s Good Morning Football, released his Mock Draft 1.0 on Tuesday morning. Schrager has projected Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker to be selected by the Tennessee Titans with the No. 11 pick in the draft.
“I can see Tennessee moving up to get a quarterback like Anthony Richardson or C.J. Stroud,” Schrager wrote. “GM Ran Carthon and coach Mike Vrabel were making the rounds at the pro days for all the top QBs last month. But if the Titans aim to land one at their current draft slot, I’m leaning toward Hooker being their choice over Will Levis, despite Hooker being a 25-year-old coming off a torn ACL. This might shock the world — or, by the time the draft arrives, it might not be that big of a shock at all.”
Schrager has Chicago taking Bryce Young No. 1, C.J. Stroud at No. 2 to the Colts, Anthony Richardson at No. 5 to Seattle, Hooker to Tennessee at No. 11, and Will Levis to the Houston Texans at No. 12.
“Here’s the shocker,” Schrager said on his TV show on Tuesday while revealing the pick. “At 11, the Tennessee Titans select Hendon Hooker out of Tennessee. 25 years old, coming off an ACL, they take him eleventh overall, and he’ll work with Tannehill until he gets healthy.”
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Coming off of an ACL surgery, Hooker has still been one of the most talked-about names in the draft build despite not being able to perform on the field leading up to it. But right now, it’s safe to say that no one has a great idea of where Hendon Hooker will be taken in this year’s NFL Draft.
Just look at the last few mock drafts, for instance.
On April 13, NFL’s Charles Davis released a first-round mock draft, with Hooker projected at No. 22 to the Baltimore Ravens. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, though, have a few more doubts. Kiper and McShay have Hooker going at No. 37 overall to the Seattle Seahawks in the mock draft that was released on Tuesday morning.
And, finally, Peter Schrager has Hooker going at No. 11 to the Titans.
That’s three mock drafts within five days from ESPN.com and NFL.com that have Hooker anywhere from No. 11 to No. 22 to No. 37 in the second round. Safe to say that it’s hard to say.
We’ll just have to wait until the big event to find out. The 2023 NFL Draft is slated to begin on Thursday, Apr. 27, from Kansas City. The draft will conclude on Saturday, Apr. 29.
