Eventually, Hendon Hooker asserted himself and won the No. 2 quarterback spot for the Detroit Lions during the preseason. He's still got a lot of work to do before he's a starting-caliber NFL quarterback, but the Lions also don't need him to be that right now with Jared Goff contractually locked in as their starter for the next few years.
At minimum, from the 10,000-foot view of a backup quarterback, Hooker is interesting. He has the physical tools (mobility, arm strength) that made him a strong Heisman Trophy candidate before a torn ACL ended his final college season in 2022. The Lions simply have not had someone like that behind their starting quarterback for a long time, and most recently the Brad Holmes-Dan Campbell regime went with Tim Boyle and Nate Sudfeld behind Goff.
When Goff missed time in 2021 and Boyle started three games, the Lions were the worst thing possible when a backup quarterback has to play.
Bad, and boring.
Hendon Hooker gets interesting spot in backup quarterback ranking
Heading into Week 4, ESPN's Seth Walder ranked the current backup quarterbacks in the NFL 1-32 (subscription required). In recent years you'd see whoever the Lions' backup was in the bottom handful of these kind or rankings. But this time a more careful scroll was required, if only in the interest of intrigue about where the Lions' No. 2 quarterback might be.
Hooker comes in at No. 16, with Walder openly acknowledging the inherent challenge in ranking him.
"Hooker is one of the hardest players on this list to rank because he hasn't taken a snap as a pro. But he was a third-round pick in 2023 despite suffering a torn ACL at the end of his college career. And he played well enough in the preseason that the Lions were willing to roll with him as their No. 2, which is another good sign. Before the knee injury, Hooker had a fantastic 27-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his final 2022 season at Tennessee."
-Seth Walder, ESPN.com
Ideally Goff will be as healthy this year as he's been the last couple full seasons, and Hooker won't have to play meaningful snaps just yet. But if Goff did miss time Lions' fans would want to watch Hooker play, practically independent of his success or failure. And that, more than anything, explains his place in Walder's ranking.