Top Quarterback Prospect Draws Comparison To Former Patriot

Most of the quarterback talk in the lead-up to the 2023 NFL Draft has centered around the top four prospects, and understandably so.

However, there might be another game-changer in this year’s class outside of the quartet of Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis.

Hendon Hooker in 2022 was putting together a Heisman Trophy-caliber season for the Tennessee Volunteers, who looked like national championship contenders as the dynamic signal-caller was setting the world on fire. But Hooker’s final college season came to an abrupt end in late November when he tore his ACL, which damaged both the Vols’ title aspirations and Hooker’s draft stock.

Still, the 25-year-old has a chance to be a productive pro for an NFL team willing to take a chance on him. And in her evaluation of the QB prospect, analytics expert Cynthia Frelund compared Hooker to a signal-caller who broke into the league with the New England Patriots.

“Hooker combines (Jacoby) Brissett’s ability to execute and read progressions with (Daniel) Jones’ throwing velocity,” Frelund wrote for NFL.com. “His season was ended prematurely by a torn ACL in November, but he still registered the second-highest passer rating (123.9), the second-best rate of turnover-worthy plays (1.0%) and the most passing yards per attempt (9.5) in the FBS last season, per PFF. Hooker used play-action on 53.5 percent of dropbacks (third-highest rate in the FBS) last season and posted the sixth-highest passer rating when using it (133.1); he also threw 18 TDs against just one interception (fifth-best rate) on such passes. Performance in a clean pocket can help approximate the best-case scenario for a QB, and Hooker’s passer rating in this situation (130.2), per computer vision, was the third-best in this class.”

Frelund believes Hooker’s ideal team fit is the Falcons, who are set to make their first two picks at No. 8 and No. 44 overall. In his latest 2023 mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. projected Hooker to go off the board at No. 30 to the Seattle Seahawks following a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ironically enough, Frelund’s NFL.com colleague, Lance Zierlein, believes Hooker’s NFL comp is Desmond Ridder, a 2022 third-rounder who currently is in line to be Atlanta’s 2023 starter.