Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is undoubtedly one of the biggest names left remaining on the table heading into the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Friday night in Kansas City.
After a run of three went in the first four overall picks, no other quarterback was selected in the first round, leaving Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and Kentucky’s Will Levis as the two best-remaining passers on the big boards.
Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt is also eagerly waiting to hear his name called and is expected to be somewhere in the second round. Only four wide receivers were taken in the first round, but all four were taken consecutively from No. 20 to No. 23: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, and Jordan Addison.
While it is disappointing that the Biletnikoff Award winner didn’t make it within the first four position players off the board, Hyatt still has plenty of second-round options open with teams such as Dallas, Buffalo, and the New York Giants.
Friday night will present several opportunities for former Tennessee players to officially enter the league through the NFL Draft. In addition to Hooker and Hyatt, Tennessee also has wide receiver Cedric Tillman and EDGE rusher Byron Young who are looking to hear their names called.
Tillman has been a fairly undervalued prospect due to injuries in the 2022 season but has all the raw talent and size to be productive at the next level. Byron Young, meanwhile, has that non-stop workman’s mentality to his game and has fought hard for his team and teammates while drastically improving his game over the past two seasons.
More from RTI: How The Experts Graded the Chicago Bears’ Darnell Wright Pick
Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright was the Vols’ only first-round selection this year as he went to the Chicago Bears with the 10th overall pick. Wright is now the highest Vol drafted since Eric Berry went at No. 5 in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Here’s a look at how experts are predicting the second and third-round landing spots for Hendon Hooker, Jalin Haytt, Cedric Tillman, and Byron Young on Friday night. The second round of the draft will precede the third round before the conclusion of the night. Rounds 4-7 will pick back up on Saturday afternoon from Kansas City.
CBS Sports (Chris Trapasso)
- No. 39 overall – Cedric Tillman to the Carolina Panthers
- (This one is a little bit of a surprise here with Trapasso taking Tillman over both Hyatt and Hooker. Maybe an early sign that Friday could be a wild ride for several Tennessee players looking to be drafted.)
- No. 47 overall – Hendon Hooker to the Washington Commanders
- “Commanders add competition to Sam Howell with Hooker. Should be a fascinating battle between the former ACC quarterbacks.”
- No. 55 overall – Jalin Hyatt to the Detroit Lions
- “Another fun dynamic downfield weapon for the Lions offense. Hyatt plays even faster than his 4.40 speed.”
- No. 61 overall (first pick of the third round) – Byron Young to the Chicago Bears
Sports Illustrated (Luke Easterling)
- Round 2, No. 36 – Hendon Hooker to the Los Angeles Rams
- Round 2, No. 46 – Jalin Hyatt to the New England Patriots
- Round 3, No. 65 – Cedric Tillman to the Houston Texans
- Round 3, No. 77 – Byron Young to the Los Angeles Rams
ESPN (Steve Muench)
- Round 2, No. 46 – Jalin Hyatt to the New England Patriots
- Round 2, No. 47 – Hendon Hooker to the Washington Commanders
- Round 2, No. 63 – Cedric Tillman to the Kansas City Chiefs
- No Round 3 predictions listed
NFL (Lance Zierlein)
- Round 2, Pick 39 – Jalin Hyatt to the Carolina Panthers
- Round 2, Pick 42 – Cedric Tillman to the Green Bay Packers
- No Round 3 predictions listed
SB Nation (Mark Schofield)
- Round 2, No. 37 – Hendon Hooker to the Seattle Seahawks
- Round 2, No. 63 – Jalin Hyatt to the Kansas City Chiefs
- No Round 3 predictions listed
One of the interesting trends based on the five predictions listed as that Hyatt and Tillman seem to be linked to teams with either young or establishing quarterbacks. Between Tillman’s projections to the Texans (CJ Stroud) and Packers (Jordan Love) and Jalin Hyatt’s predictions to Carolina (Bryce Young) and New England (Mac Jones/Bailey Zappe), that could very well be a possibility as teams get their young quarterbacks new and exciting young weapons.
Both Tennessee receivers also landed a prediction to the Kansas City Chiefs, too. And in a lot of ways, the Chiefs’ offense seems to resemble what Tennessee was doing on the field the most under Josh Heupel. The Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, and Andy Reid would no doubt be able to see Hyatt or Tillman have success in Kansas City.
Still, though, the question around Hooker remains. Will he be drafted ahead of Will Levis as the Kentucky quarterback continues to fall dramatically? Will Hendon Hooker land at a spot with a veteran quarterback like Tennessee or Minnesota?
After a lot of questions were left unanswered in the first round on Thursday night, we should get some of those on Friday night.
Rounds two and three of the 2023 NFL Draft will begin on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET.
