Will the Saints Draft Hendon Hooker? 2023 NFL Draft Outlook

Former Virginia Tech and Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker garnered national attention with his 2022 season prior to tearing his ACL in the blowout loss against South Carolina.

Hooker threw for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns with just two interceptions and added 430 rushing yards and five scores on the ground in his breakout season. He was one of the top Heisman candidates prior to his season-ending injury.

Along with the ACL tear, scouts are concerned with Hooker’s age given that he was a fifth year senior exercising his COVID year this past season. Where could the Volunteers’ star land in the draft?

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Will Hendon Hooker Be Drafted In The First Round?

While Hooker was initially considered a second-round pick, it seems that talk of him going earlier in the draft has started to heat up.

When you turn on the film, you see a quarterback who made strides of improvement throughout his college career and was playing at an elite level prior to the injury. 

While he is old for a prospect at 25-years-old, all things considered he is young for the quarterback position and his age should not deter a quarterback-needy team from taking a swing on him in Round 1.

Will the Saints Draft Hendon Hooker?

Hooker had an official visit with the New Orleans Saints this week.

The Saints have struggled to find Drew Brees’ successor but finally settled in on Derek Carr when they paid him a 4-year, $150 million contract earlier this offseason. New Orleans also brought back Jameis Winston and has Taysom Hill under contract, seemingly settling the quarterback room.

But did they? The Saints own pick 29 in the first round after dealing former head coach Sean Payton to Denver. Hooker is projected as a back-end first-round prospect. Why would New Orleans bring him in for an official visit if they weren’t interested in his services?

Over his nine-year career, Carr has only made one playoff start. Being 32 years old and having a track record of being average at best, Carr is clearly not a franchise quarterback. New Orleans has no incentive to not search for their quarterback of the future.

While bringing in Carr seemed like a win-now move for a team in the NFL’s weakest division, picking the quarterback of the future in Round 1 would be reminiscent of the Packers’ selection of Jordan Love in the 2020 NFL Draft. 

Selecting Hooker would be less head-scratching given Derek Carr’s track record vs. Aaron Rodgers’ track record, but some fans may be scratching their heads nonetheless if New Orleans opts to pick Hooker. Picking for the future as a team in win-now mode is never a popular option among fanbases, but if New Orleans believes in Hooker they could very well select the former Volunteer.

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