As the Detroit Lions fill out their schedule of top-30 pre-draft visits, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker lands as a very interesting one.
The Detroit Lions are easily presumed to be open to drafting a quarterback in a few weeks, and they should be doing all the work they can to hone in on who they like. On Friday Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is scheduled to have a top-30 visit with the Lions next week.
If not for a torn ACL that ended his final season at Tennessee early, Hooker might be a sure-fire first-round pick. As it is, some recent mock draft buzz (for what that’s worth) has pushed him into the first round conversation.
Over almost two full seasons as the Volunteers’ starting quarterback, Hooker threw for 6,080 yards with 58 touchdowns and just five interceptions along with over 1,000 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground. Despite missing the end of last season, he finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
2023 NFL Draft: Could Hendon Hooker be the Lions’ quarterback of the future?
Hooker will likely miss all of offseason work as he rehabs his injury, and even if he’s available late in his rookie season it will likely go down as a redshirt year for him. He’s also 25 years old, which can be viewed as a positive (maturity) or a negative (too old) depending on a team’s perspective. If he sits all of his rookie season, suddenly you’ve got a 26-year old starting quarterback who hasn’t taken a meaningful NFL snap yet.
For a point of context that should not be read deeper into at all, Lamar Jackson turned 26 in January.
Hooker obviously was not able to participate on the field at the Senior Bowl. But Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew was spotted getting a little extra time to talk to him.
The Lions, with Jared Goff in place as the starter for at least one more year, would be an ideal situation for Hooker as he gets back to full health and learns an NFL offense.
Hooker’s visit will also give the Lions a chance to do a medical evaluation all their own on him, outside of what he might say about how his knee is doing or the Combine medical re-check he may be part of. The medical side is a critical piece of any team’s evaluation of Hooker.
The Lions may gain some extra intel on Hooker too. Aaron Wilson of KPRC in Houston reported Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright is also slated to come in for a visit. Wright is a potential first-round pick, but he may gone before the Lions go on the clock at pick No. 18.