Hendon Hooker

Pos: QB

School: Tennessee

Ht. 6’3″ 

Wt. 217

Games Watched: Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia

One Liner: Smart, accurate quarterback who wins with athleticism, football IQ and decision making.

Strengths: 

  • Very good athlete. Hooker can evade the pocket and create positive plays with his legs, boosting his floor at the next level.
  • Very good technique. In a class littered with players who have developing footwork and throwing angles, Hooker has extremely solid footwork that puts his body into throws and allows for a fluid motion. 
  • Good Football IQ. Although he played in a simple spread offense with half field reads, Hooker did his job and maximized his ability in that playbook and made good decisions throughout the year until getting hurt.
  • Good decision making. Hooker prevented the ball from being in harm’s way a lot last year. 

Weaknesses:

  • Age and injury concerns. Hooker is going to be a 25 year old rookie that will likely be sidelined for his entire season with an ACL. For someone who we aren’t sure about in an NFL offense, this affects his development.
  • Adequate touch as a thrower. This is another reason why Hooker’s completion percentage and numbers could be questionable. His accuracy was shaky due to his touch, or lack thereof, which points to his numbers potentially being due to Heupel’s scheme.

Overall Assessment: Hooker is a high character, experienced college QB who has shown he can win with athletic ability as well as making good decisions on the field. He is a technically sound prospect, but needs to develop his touch at the next level. It is tough to project his ability to read the field considering a simple scheme at Tennessee, however he has the makeup of someone who could adjust to a NFL style playbook. Being 25 and coming off an ACL is a concern. 

Scheme Fit: West Coast offense

Pick Projection: Day 2

Grade: 6.31