Hendon Hooker Rising Among League Front Offices

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker continues to get first-round hype, as several reports confirm the VFL is some teams' No. 3 signal-caller.

Many franchises are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to select in the 2023 NFL Draft, with the top suitors, as always, being teams searching for a quarterback. Each front office holds a different standard and ideal for what their quarterback looks like, but at the end of the day, everyone knows they must find a franchise leader.

When investing as many resources as NFL teams do in the process, you are bound to get some differing results. The 2023 quarterback class is an excellent example: Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's CJ Stroud look to be well ahead of the pack, but there's disagreement about what the following order is.

Many have argued for Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, a physical specimen capable of incredible athletic feats. He can throw a 70-yard laser before doing a backflip and going viral on social media. Meanwhile, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis is also a gifted thrower with elite physical traits.

The odd man out for a long time was Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. It was easy to write him off after the torn ACL; teams wouldn't be able to work him out, and he wouldn't have any athletic testing. However, once Hooker got in front of evaluators, he began to rocket up the board.

Update: "Plenty" of NFL teams have Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker ranked as the 3rd QB prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft.@JamesPalmerTV: "There is a gap between the top two in Bryce Young and CJ Stroud" then Hooker slides between them and Anthony Richardson/Will Levis. pic.twitter.com/ebS82WILAL

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 7, 2023

After a strong Reese's Senior Bowl, NFL Combine, and private meetings, NFL Network's James Palmer reports that some front offices have him as the No. 3 quarterback on their board. This comes days after an anonymous NFL scout told The Score's Jordan Schultz that he didn't think Hooker would get out of the first round.

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