Getty Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings aren’t doing homework on this upcoming quarterback draft class for merely extra credit — there’s a real possibility they’re entertaining in drafting their next franchise quarterback.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed to The Athletic the value he sees in evaluating quarterback prospects every year, especially with the potential prospect of coaching them one day.
One in particular that has become a dark horse favorite among accredited mock drafters in Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker. Hooker has fallen to the Vikings at No. 23 overall in several accredited mock drafts.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, pivoting off NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah mocking Hooker to the Vikings, followed up on the mock draft that set off “alarm bells” to him and found that Minnesota’s invested as much work as any team in Hooker.
“Somebody close to Hendon Hooker told me that his sense is: the Vikings have been doing as much homework on him as any organization around,” Wolfson reported on the SKOR North podcast on April 4.
Hooker doesn’t have a scheduled visit with the Vikings yet, however, Wolfson said Minnesota will likely extend many of their top 30 invitations next week. However, the amount of work that’s gone into assessing a unique prospect like Hooker is a telltale sign that Minnesota has not written him off their draft board.
Hendon Hooker Rising Into Top-10 for Some Scouts
A redshirt senior, Hooker, 25, is older than several NFL starting quarterbacks like Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts. While some scouts believe that has put him behind developmentally, Hooker has already shown the acumen to adapt to a new offense in his college career.
Transferring to Tennessee from Virginia Tech in 2021, Hooker learned an entirely new offense and thrived with the Vols, throwing 58 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 24 starts before tearing his ACL last November.
“He has played in another system — not only did he learn it — Tennessee football has been in a ditch for 15 years. Hendon Hooker was a big reason why they had a top-10 season they beat Alabama at one point he was the Heisman frontrunner,” The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman said on The Rich Eisen Show. “Yes, he’s coming off an ACL but if he goes to the Vikings you don’t need him to come in and play right away. I think he can get acclimated Kevin O’Connell is good with quarterbacks we know the structure there should be good. There are good young receivers. I think that would be an ideal spot for him.”
While scouts have knocked Hooker for playing in an air-raid offense that doesn’t require as many pre-snap checks and reads, Hooker has impressed teams in his interviews for his football IQ, leading to him landing in the top 1o picks in some mock drafts after he was deemed a Day 2 prospect earlier this year.
Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum had mocked Hooker going as high as fifth overall on March 29 as Hooker’s stock continues to rise.
Vikings Could See Top-5 QB Fall to No. 23 in Draft
Minnesota may not have to mortgage the future to land Hooker or any of the top four or five quarterback prospects on draft day.
Since 1949, only once have four quarterbacks been selected inside the top 10. While every spring welcomes draft hype for upcoming prospects, it’s commonplace for some top prospects to begin free fall.
Last year, Malik Willis, a physically gifted developmental prospect, had top-10 hype before he fell to the Tennessee Titans in the third round.
While the verdict is still out on whether the hype around Hooker is real or just hot air, there are murmurs that some teams have valued him higher than Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.
Case in point: the pressure has been on for the Vikings to trade up to find their next franchise quarterback, but watching how the board plays out may be the better move in a draft class that has been considered deeper than years past.