Lions' Hendon Hooker: Detroit ends fall in Round 3
The Lions selected Hooker (knee) in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 68th overall.
Hooker tore his ACL in November and might need a redshirt season in 2023 as a result, but whenever he's healthy he should give Detroit an interesting developmental quarterback behind Jared Goff. That Hooker turned 25 in January and played in an extremely favorable system at Tennessee undermines his otherwise excellent production with the Volunteers, where he threw for 58 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions in his final 24 collegiate games. To Hooker's credit he was a good player at Virginia Tech before that, too, and at both schools he proved an effective volume runner. Hooker is a total wild card, but the Lions had a lot of picks in the 2023 Draft and relatively few needs, leaving Detroit in good position to make this gamble.
