Hendon Hooker drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft.
FeaturedNFLBy Reice Shipley on

Many around the NFL world have been speculating throughout the NFL Draft process when Tennessee Volunteers star quarterback Hendon Hooker would be selected. It took a while, but one team finally took a chance on him in the third round on Friday night.

Hooker had a ton of success at Tennessee last season, but there were concerns about his ACL injury that ended his season last year.

These concerns saw him slip all the way to the third round when he certainly could have been taken higher. With the No. 68 pick in the third round, the Detroit Lions stopped Hooker’s slide.

It is a pick that has been rumored after Hooker went on a visit earlier in the draft process to Detroit. Regardless, the pick certainly raised the eyebrows of the NFL world.

It is a particularly interesting selection because the team already has Jared Goff at the quarterback position, who performed admirably last season.

He finished the 2022 season with 4,438 passing yards to go along with 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. More importantly, he led the Lions to a 9-8 record, which was their first winning season since 2017.

Goff will likely still be the team’s starter heading into the 2023 season, but it does put some pressure on him to perform now that Hendon Hooker is in the building.

Hooker is a rare prospect, coming to the Lions as a 25-year-old rookie. He is actually only three years younger than Goff, which seems shocking considering Goff has been in the NFL for seven years.

At the very least Hooker can be a solid backup for Detroit, and could become their starter in the future if he impresses the Lions’ coaching staff.

[Awful Announcing on Twitter] Photo Credit: ESPN

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

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