NFL Draft: Detroit Lions take Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker in the third round

The Detroit Lions used a third-round pick to draft Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker on Friday night.

The Lions traded down twice from No. 55 and were able to land Hooker 13 picks later as he continues his recovery from a left ACL injury he suffered at the end of the 2022 college football season. Hooker, 25, was considered a possible first-round pick despite his knee injury because of an incredibly productive season with the Volunteers.

Hooker completed 70% of his passes for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions in 11 games before tearing his ACL in the penultimate game of the regular season.

An immediate backup for Jared Goff and a possible future starter

Hooker immediately slides into the No. 2 role behind Jared Goff in Detroit and could end up being Goff’s successor if the Lions decide to move on. Goff had a very good season in 2022 in his second season with the Lions, and the team made adding to the offense a priority early in the draft by spending two of its first three picks on Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Iowa TE Sam LaPorta.

Goff has just two years remaining on his contract, however, and the Lions could even reasonably move on after the 2023 season if they wanted to. With Nate Sudfeld as his backup ahead of the draft, picking Hooker is a solid contingency plan for the Lions. Especially at the cost of a third-round pick.

It’s fair to wonder if Hooker’s age and Tennessee’s offense also played a role in his availability in the third round. At 25, Hooker will be just four years younger than Goff in Week 1 despite Goff being a member of the 2016 draft class. Hooker played five seasons of college football after redshirting in his first year at Virginia Tech in 2017.

And while Hooker led one of the best offenses in college football a season ago, it’s fair to wonder how well that offense translates to pro football. While NFL teams have been folding in more and more college concepts into their playbooks, Tennessee’s explosive offense is still a bit of an outlier. And Hooker was the first skill position player from that unit selected in the draft. While offensive tackle Darnell Wright was a first-round pick, wide receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman were still on the board when the Lions took Hooker though they were selected shortly afterward. The New York Giants took Hyatt while the Cleveland Browns picked Tillman.