2023 NFL Draft: Daniel Jeremiah's Latest Mock Has Vikings Take Hendon Hooker in Rd. 1
Here's an interesting, unusual mock draft pick for the Vikings: Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. That's who Minnesota selects at No. 23 overall in the latest mock draft from NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah.
The Vikings have been doing their homework on this quarterback class. Hooker is well-liked around the league and he could sit for a year behind Kirk Cousins before taking over and ushering in a new era for Kevin O’Connell.
That would be quite something. With Kirk Cousins seemingly set to play out the final year of his contract in 2023, there's been plenty of talk about the possibility of the Vikings drafting a quarterback this year. But generally, the consensus has been that the four first-round QB prospects in this class are C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis. Could Hooker end up becoming the fifth QB taken in the first round? Clearly, Jeremiah thinks it's a possibility.
Hooker is a rather polarizing prospect. He broke out in 2021 after transferring from Virginia Tech to Tennessee and put up incredible numbers across two seasons with the Vols, throwing for over 6,000 yards with a 68.8 completion percentage and 58 touchdowns to just five interceptions. Hooker, whose best attribute in his VT days was his mobility, added over 1,000 rushing yards and ten touchdowns in his two years at Tennessee.
From a raw talent perspective, Hooker has a case to go in the first round. He has good size, a big arm, accuracy at all three levels, and the athleticism to extend plays with his legs. He's a legit dual threat who shredded SEC defenses over the last two seasons.
However, there are also a bunch of concerns with his evaluation. For starters, Hooker is already 25 years old as a result of spending six years at the college level (he had a redshirt season in 2017 and gained a sixth year of eligibility in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). He also unfortunately tore his ACL in November of last year, which means he may not be ready to play at all during his rookie season in the NFL.
Perhaps more important than his age and injury status is the context of the offense Hooker played in at Tennessee. It wasn't a pro-style offense, but rather one that spreads the field and attacks defenses vertically with a lot of simple reads. Hooker was operating an uptempo offense that prioritized getting the ball to players like Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman in space. Because he wasn't going through many full-field progressions, NFL evaluators have concerns about how his game will translate to the next level.
Hooker responded to that idea earlier this month at the combine.
“I can’t help that defenders can’t guard my receivers," he said. "My job is to get them the ball. A lot of these questions about one-sided reads and stuff, we have pure progression routes. It's not my fault my first read is getting open. We have pre-snap looks, one-high, two-high, which side, double footwork combo. We have pure progressions with an alert, with an option. Any of these questions, they're cool and all, but if you really dig into our offense, watch the film, then you'll understand it's elevated to a whole 'nother level. How fast we're going, I have to process a lot of information at the same time and communicate with everyone."
It's going to be fascinating to see where Hooker ends up being selected. Ultimately, I think the risk is too great for the Vikings to take him in the first round. If he's still there in the third — which seems unlikely — then go for it. But if Minnesota is going to take a QB in the first round, I'd imagine the most likely outcome is they trade up for a falling Levis, who Kevin O'Connell is rumored to like.
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