Hendon Hooker 2023 Draft Prospect Fantasy Football Breakdown

Hendon Hooker, Tennessee (6’4”, 218) 

Games Watched: Florida, Alabama, Ball State, LSU

What Scouts Say:

Comes from a scheme spread offense where his reads were made for him. Amazing deep ball accuracy. Maybe not the strongest arm but his placement and touch are great. Keeps plays alive with his agility, stands tall in the face of pressure. Used in designed run plays effectively, could be his first pro reps as a gadget Taysom Hill rush QB. 6th year senior. Inconsistent footwork. Raw prospect at 25 years old, tore ACL in November. Will have low draft capital.

What We Saw: 
Tony:

When his feet are set or he’s on a designed roll out, he’s a strong passer with beautiful touch on his deep balls. His problems are few, but mighty: mechanics (especially foot mechanics), making multiple reads on a play (since he came from an RPO/spread offense), and accuracy (the big one). Hooker is a lot of fun to watch and certainly possesses several of the tools necessary for a successful QB in the NFL, the issue is the aforementioned issues with his game, his age (25), and the fact that he’s coming into the league recovering from a torn ACL. 

Shane:

I saw the same thing the scouts saw. He was fun to watch with a big arm, overall good accuracy, not afraid to use his legs when the play breaks down. Footwork could be better as he does tend to stand flat footed, but that can be improved upon and I’d rather have an accurate statue player in the moment rather than someone who plays hero ball and is inaccurate. Biggest hold up for me at the moment outside of age is the system he played in. Jalin Hyatt is the truth, but the way most games went felt like the 2022 LA chargers of 3 types of plays and that’s it. WR screen, Boundary Screen, RPO. As the season progressed they utilized the field more but Hooker seemed way more comfortable throwing to the boundary and deep where he was more experienced. Could take time to develop, but given his injury, I think that time will be good for his development even though he’s entering the NFL as an AARP member. Again, draft capital is important, if he’s taken in the first two rounds in the NFL I’ll use a mid 2nd to see what I have as the draft is the cheapest time to get QBs, any later and I’m fading unfortunately. He’s my QB4, barely behind Levis. 

Player Comparison:

Terrelle Pryor/Ryan Tannehill

Grade: 3rd Round Dynasty QB 

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