Could Hendon Hooker be a Fit for the Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts are closing in on the 2023 NFL Draft, where they’ll likely select a quarterback to lead the team for years to come. So far, four names have been put into mock drafts to be selected by Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen.

Those names are Florida’s Anthony Richardson, Kentucky’s Will Levis, Alabama’s Bryce Young, and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.

However, one outlier is Tennessee Volunteer quarterback Hendon Hooker.

Hooker suffered a torn ACL in 2022 that cut his season short and dropped his draft stock. This injury only added to the adversity that Hendon would face being 25 years old, operating a “non-NFL style offense” in Tennessee, and having a game-breaking receiver to lean on like Jaylin Hyatt.

However, despite many predicting he’ll fall to the second or third round, some believe the Colts should take a chance, given how good Steichen is at coaching quarterbacks. This segues into the matter at hand, could Hooker fit with Steichen’s vertical offense in Indianapolis? Let’s discuss it by starting with how he can fit in.

How He Could Fit the Offense

It’s simple, Hooker is a great deep ball passer and would do the same for Steichen’s offense. As the new head coach has mentioned on multiple occasions, he wants to be “vertical,” “attack,” and be “explosive” on offense.

Hendon Hooker has thrown at least one TD pass in 15 straight games.

This one, a deep ball to Jalin Hyatt. 🎯 #Vols pic.twitter.com/ODB9vofOxS
— Kellyanne Stitts (@KellyanneStitts) September 18, 2022

He’s also an accurate passer. During his two seasons at Tennessee, he did a fantastic job of taking care of the football while hitting receivers at a high rate. Below is a brief rundown of his 2021 and 2022.

2021

13 total games
206/303 passes
68.0% completion
2,945 passing yards; 31 TDs/3 Int

2022

11 total games
229/329 passes
69.6% completion
3,135 passing yards; 27 TDs/2 Int

Those are numbers that will make any coach happy. With threats like Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. on the outside, it’s easy to connect why Hooker could succeed with Indianapolis, given what he did at Tennessee.

Another quality he showed that gets overlooked is his raw ability to scramble. For this, it’s worth showcasing his time at Virginia Tech before he transferred.

2019 (Virginia Tech)

10 total games
123 rushes for 356 yards and five TDs.

2020 (Virginia Tech)

8 total games
120 rushes for 620 yards and nine TDs.

2021

13 total games
166 rushes for 616 yards and five TDs.

2022

11 total games
104 rushes for 430 yards and five TDs.

While he doesn’t have freak-athlete rushing numbers, he is still more mobile than what gets talked about, and his mobility could extend plays and open up receivers.

Now that the fit has been covered, it’s time to overview why Hooker isn’t a QB to mesh with Steichen.

How He Doesn’t Fit the Offense

Despite not having raw numbers, Hooker will be 26 years old during the 2023 NFL season. This age issue also means his ceiling may either be hit or be close to a realization very soon.

Steichen may want to groom a younger field general with a higher upside and room to grow. It’s also worth mentioning that the aforementioned injury may not help the case for Steichen to take a chance on the Volunteer QB.

Lastly, Hooker operated a simpler passing offense at Tennessee. This offense didn’t require Hendon to make multiple reads and progressions, instead favoring a one or two-read system that simplified the gameplan with a dynamic threat like Hyatt.

Without any resemblance to an NFL offense during his best years, it could deter a mind like Steichen from wanting to teach him from the ground up.

The Verdict

Hooker is a big, athletic, strong-armed passer who is accurate and doesn’t turn the ball over hardly at all. However, with the injuries, age, lack of readiness for NFL offenses, and the threat of a lower ceiling than the other options, I don’t see the Colts selecting Hooker.

He is a solid quarterback, and there will be an NFL team who selects him. It just likely won’t be the Colts.

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