HEIGHT: 6’3″
WEIGHT: 217
HAND: 10 1/2″
ARM: 33″
WINGSPAN: TBD
40-YARD DASH: N/A
3-CONE: N/A
SHUTTLE: N/A
VERTICAL: N/A
BROAD: N/A
POSITIVES
— Above-average velocity and pace on throws over the middle.
— Good accuracy on inside-breaking routes (primarily slants and glances). Leads WRs for YAC.
— Very rarely put the ball in harm’s way in 2022.
— Above-average athlete. Can be an effective scrambler and occasional designed runner.
NEGATIVES
— Very old prospect. Already 25 years old, will be 26 years old by end of rookie year.
— Tennessee’s offense asked very little of him from an NFL-style progression and decision-making standpoint.
— Type of passer who needs to see it open before he throws it.
— Arm strength and accuracy waver outside the numbers.
— Below-average pocket command. Movement is erratic; struggles throwing when platform is crowded.
2022
— 11 G, 229-329 (69.9%), 3,135 yards, 9.5 Y/A, 27 TD, 2 INT, 104 ATT, 430 YDS (4.1 AVG), 5 TD
NOTES
— DOB: January 13, 1998
— 4-star recruit committed to Virginia Tech in 2017, transferred to Tennessee in 2021
— 37 career starts (22 at Tennessee, 15 at Virginia Tech)
— 2022 first-team All-SEC
— Suffered an ACL tear toward the end of the 2022 season; missed entire predraft process
OVERALL
Hendon Hooker is a fairly talented, highly productive quarterback prospect with a concerning profile and incomplete skill set.
Hooker’s best trait is how he throws the middle of the field. Tennessee’s offense often made the reads simple and clear as day, but Hooker executed with good velocity and ball placement. He has enough juice to fit tight windows, as well as the careful placement to lead receivers smoothly for yards after the catch.
Hooker also seldom put the ball in harm’s way. Tennessee’s offense helped him in that regard when operating within structure, but he also rarely made panicked mistakes late in the down.
Hooker is a solid athlete, too. He shows good initial burst and has just enough speed in the open field to be a useful scrambler. Hooker won’t be a heavily used designed runner in the NFL, but it can be sprinkled into his future offense.
Granted, all of that is made complicated by his ACL injury at the end of the season, but we will have to see how he recovers and adjust expectations from there.
With that said, the rest of Hooker’s profile is troubling. Hooker is a 25-year-old prospect whose collegiate offense asked almost nothing of him in terms of NFL processing. Tennessee’s offense made great use of the wide hashes and wide splits that can only be accessed at the college level. Those do not exist the same way in the NFL. Hooker will have to adjust greatly to a real passing offense.
Additionally, Hooker’s accuracy often suffers when he is throwing anything but 5-15 yard in-breaking routes. He often misses high when throwing outside the numbers and his accuracy suffers immensely when his throwing area gets crowded in the pocket.
Hooker is a Day 3 flier. His adequate athletic ability, velocity over the middle, and years of starting experience give him a decent baseline as a backup. However, Hooker showcased very few NFL reps and high-level NFL traits at Tennessee, on top of being a very old prospect at 25-years-old. Hooker will need years of development with respect to progressions, accuracy outside the numbers, and pocket management, which is a concerning profile for such an old prospect.
GRADE:
OVERALL RANK: TBD
POSITION RANK: TBD
PRO COMPARISON: Mobile Bryce Petty
Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen
