SEC 2023 NFL Draft Preview: Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker

After two phenomenal seasons at Tennessee, Hendon Hooker now enters the 2023 NFL Draft as one of the top quarterbacks available on the board. Coming off an injury however, where will the Tennessee sixth-year senior now be selected this April?

SEC 2023 NFL Draft Preview: Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker

A former four-star prospect in the 2017 class, Hooker originally began his collegiate career in the ACC at Virginia Tech. However, Hooker’s collegiate career would originally begin with a redshirt in 2017 where the former four-star did not see any game action, and would be followed by only appearing in six games in 2018 as a redshirt freshman, rushing for 57 yards and a touchdown on four attempts.

Hooker would then become the Hokies primary starting quarterback in 2019, completing 61.1% of his passes for 1,555 yards with a 13:2 TD:INT ratio, while also rushing for 356 yards and five more scores on 123 attempts. The former four-star would once again start for the Hokies during the 2020 season as well, completing 65.3% of his passes for 1,339 yards with a 9:5 TD:INT ratio, along with rushing for a career-high 620 yards and nine touchdowns on 120 attempts.

At the conclusion of the 2020 season, Hooker would however enter the transfer portal, and would take his talents to the SEC at Tennessee.

As a redshirt senior in 2021, Hooker would have a career-year with the Volunteers, completing 68% of his passes for 2,945 yards with a 31:3 TD:INT ratio. Also rushing for 616 yards and five touchdowns on 166 attempts, Hooker would rank top five in the SEC that season in both passing yards and touchdowns, while also leading the conference with a 181.4 passing efficiency rating.

This past season, Hooker would post arguably the greatest single-season of his collegiate career, completing 69.6% of his passes for 3,135 yards and a 27:2 TD:INT ratio to finish fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. The 2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, Hooker would also rush for 430 yards and five touchdowns on 104 attempts, as well as lead the conference in both completion percentage and passing efficiency rating (175.5), among other statistical categories.

In all, Hooker would conclude his collegiate career with a combined 66.9% completion percentage between his time at Virginia Tech and Tennessee, throwing for 8,974 total yards with an 80:12 TD:INT ratio. Hooker would also run for 2,079 yards and 25 touchdowns on 517 attempts during that span as well.

Strengths

A player who took his game to another level the last two seasons at Tennessee, Hooker is simply an experienced quarterback that has an exciting skillset that could be enticing for NFL teams. At 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, Hooker has a strong arm that is capable of throwing the ball downfield with ease at times, and is also a very accurate passer, one who led the SEC this past season with a 69.6 CMP%, as well as ranking second in 2021 with a 68 CMP%.

Hooker has also shown the ability to limit turnovers the past two seasons at Tennessee, holding a combined 58:5 TD:INT ratio during his time in Knoxville, as well as having thrown only 12 picks for his entire collegiate career. Lastly, Hooker is also a solid runner from the quarterback position, and has the ability to pick up yards with his legs when the pocket collapses.

Question Marks

The obvious question mark surrounding Hooker entering the 2023 NFL Draft is that the Tennessee quarterback is coming off an ACL injury, which he suffered during the South Carolina game toward the end of the 2023 season. Aside from that however, Hooker does not have very many question marks entering the 2023 NFL Draft, making it easy to see why many project the Tennessee signal caller as a first round pick.

Potential Draft Range

As mentioned previously, Hooker has likely emerged as a potential first round pick, and could be selected as early as midway through the first 32 overall picks. Hooker is also unlikely to fall past the third round, meaning that the Tennessee quarterback should be selected at some point within days one or two.

Draft Prediction

Hooker will be selected in the back-half of the first round in the 2023 NFL Draft, with a team also potentially trading up to select the Tennessee quarterback.