Connecting NFL Draft Dots: Is QB Hendon Hooker In Play For Texans?

The Houston Texans will select a quarterback at some point during the 2023 NFL Draft, but could Tennessee's Hendon Hooker be in play at pick No. 12?
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HOUSTON — If not for an ACL tear sustained in early November, Tennessee's quarterback Hendon Hooker may have been the third-best prospect entering the 2023 NFL Draft.

Hooker was in the middle of his best collegiate season at Tennessee during the 2022 campaign, completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns while leading the Volunteers to a 9-2 record.

Hooker's knee injury has hampered his draft stock. But Peter King's latest Mock Draft has the Houston Texans taking Hooker with the No. 12 pick. King had the Texans drafting Texas Tech's edge rusher Tyree Wilson at No. 2.

"Guess which AFC South team has been doing work on Hooker in the last week or so? A clue: It’s the team that’s passing on C.J. Stroud. Houston has a surplus of picks and no long-term quarterback, and the Texans simply couldn’t come out of having seven picks in the top 50 of the ’22 and ’23 drafts without one of them being a quarterback." — King

The idea of Hooker landing with the Texans isn't as farfetched as one may assume. A source tells TexansDaily that Hooker was "hugely impressive" to the Texans at the NFL Combine and during his Top-30 visit. 

And doing his interview with Sports Radio 610 Thursday morning, general manager Nick Caserio mentioned that medical evaluations are a part of the final preparations ahead of the draft.

C.J. Stroud appeared to be a lock for the Texans at the start of the draft season. But in recent weeks, the likelihood of the Texans taking the quarterback prospect from Ohio State is slim.

Caserio has been adamant about keeping the Texans' options open when enhancing the team's roster through the draft. And despite not being Stroud or Bryce Young, the addition of Hooker would improve the Texans' subpar position group. But the primary objective for Houston is to leave the draft with a good football team.

"I think there are a lot of different ways to go through the team," Caserio said. "We'll look at everything. I think building a team is the most important thing. How that all comes together, there are always multiple moving parts, so we'll do whatever we think is best for our team and try to make good decisions.

"Next opportunity is next Thursday night, so we'll continue the team-building process and build on some of the things we've done here in the spring.


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