Will Hendon Hooker be a First-Round Pick? 2023 NFL Draft Outlook

University of Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has a wide range of outcomes for his draft position in the 2023 NFL Draft. QBs Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis seem to be locks to go in the first round on April 27th, but Hooker has a chance to be the fifth quarterback inside the top 31 picks.

Hooker is already 25 years old after a six-year college career, but his passing and rushing production over the last two seasons at Tennessee rivals the elites in this year's class. Since quarterbacks are often playing into their late-3os in today's NFL, his age might not be a complete detriment to his chances to be selected on day one.

Will Hooker be a first-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft? Let's dive in.

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Hendon Hooker Career Review

Hooker completed 197 of his 312 (64.1%) passing attempts for 2,894 yards and 22 touchdowns to five interceptions during his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons at Virginia Tech in 2019 and 2020. He added 976 and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Shortly after entering the transfer portal, Hooker committed to Tennessee, where he'd enjoy tremendous success under new head coach Josh Heupel.

In two seasons as the Vols' trigger-man, Hooker posted 6,080 passing yards, 58 passing touchdowns, five interceptions, 1,050 rushing yards, and 10 rushing touchdowns. In 2022, he led the Volunteers to a win over Florida for the first time since 2015 and a victory over Alabama for the first time since 2006.

He was leading the Heisman race before suffering a torn ACL in the loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in late November, but he still earned SEC Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-SEC honors.

Will Hendon Hooker be a First-Round Pick?

According to MockDraftDataBase.com, which aggregates thousands of mock drafts to form a big board of prospects, Hooker sits as the 39th overall player as of April 17. He has risen up draft boards since February as he reportedly had great meetings with teams at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine. Hooker wasn't able to patriciate in any on-field work due to his ACL tear, but he is expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season.

Hendon Hooker Mock Draft Data

Ultimately, Hooker is being mocked anywhere from a top-10 selection to outside the first round. As things sit, the consensus is that he'll be an early second-round pick, but an NFL team could decide to take him at the end of the first round so he will be fifth-year option eligible.

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