Lions end Hendon Hooker's slide with 3rd-round selection
The Detroit Lions selected Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 68th overall.
Hooker was thought to be a possible first-round selection coming into the NFL draft. He was the fifth quarterback selected following Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis.
The Tennessee signal-caller was in the midst of a stellar season in 2022 before an ACL tear prematurely ended his year. However, he is expected to be cleared by Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Hooker transferred from Virginia Tech to Tennessee in 2021 and enjoyed a heap of success with the Volunteers. In his two seasons with the program, Hooker threw for 6,080 yards and 58 touchdowns to five interceptions.
He'll join a Lions quarterback room that is headlined by Jared Goff. Goff is under contract through the 2024 season.
The Lions added Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with their first pick of the draft and then took linebacker Jack Campbell with their second selection of the first round. They also bolstered the offense with tight end Sam LaPorta in Round 2 before landing safety Brian Branch later in the round.
Pre-draft profile
Hooker's production at Tennessee was off the charts. Throwing for 58 touchdowns and only five interceptions in two years is virtually unheard of. Josh Heupel's offense, which masterfully created space for its playmakers, deserves plenty of the credit for that statistical output. Hooker, for his part, has an intriguing skill set. He's a technically sound passer who works extremely well within the structure of his concepts, and he's remarkably calm in the pocket - sometimes even to a fault. There's also an athletic element to his game; he's an effective ball carrier on scrambles and designed runs. But his accuracy and ball placement are more inconsistent than his numbers suggest, and there aren't a lot of examples of him working through multiple progressions from the pocket. He may need some significant development time after playing in an offensive system that is like nothing we will ever see in the NFL. Add in his age (25), along with the possibility his rookie season is a write-off due to a torn ACL suffered in November, and there's plenty of risk to consider.