Getty Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.
The New York Giants’ interest in Hendon Hooker might be real.
Big Blue will host Hooker on a “top 30” visit slated for April 19, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The Tennessee quarterback “met extensively” with the Giants during their pre-draft process and was long expected to visit East Rutherford in person.
Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker is visiting the #Giants tomorrow, sources say. Hooker’s busy pre-draft tour continues, as teams are gathering as much information on him and his recovery as they can.
Hooker has been a steady draft riser since suffering a torn ACL in November. NFL Media draft expert Daniel Jeremiah slotted him as the 23rd overall pick in his latest mock draft; almost 20%of mock drafts have Hooker as a first-rounder, per Mock Draft Database.
That means the Giants could be in Hooker’s range with their 25th overall pick — if that’s indeed the way they want to spend it.
Here’s what you need to know about the team’s continued interest in Hooker.
Hendon Hooker: Giants Quarterback of the Future?
Hooker’s draft stock is leaping for a reason.
His career numbers at Virginia Tech and Tennessee — 8,974 passing yards and 80 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions — speak for themselves. He quarterbacked the nation’s most efficient offense in 2022, won SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and might’ve taken home the Heisman Trophy if not for his knee injury.
That experience still leaves room for upside, according to NFL.com’s draft analyst Lance Zierlein’s scouting report:
Hooker plays with excellent poise and footwork as a pocket passer. He will make quarterback coaches and play-callers happy with his adherence to keeping plays on schedule. He’s still showing signs of improvement and growth at the position, and his ability to hurt teams with his legs creates opportunities to help his offense outside of what he does in the pocket.
Any reports like this come with an asterisk, though.
Hooker will enter the league as a 25-year-old rookie. That’d make him him one of the oldest first-round quarterbacks drafted since 1967, according to Football Perspective’s Chase Stewart.
Here are the oldest QBs drafted in the first round since 1967, based on age of the QB as of September 1st of his draft year.
New York already has a 25-year-old under center. And it just gave Daniel Jones — with four years of NFL experience — a new contract worth $40 million per year.
For all his talent, a Hooker selection might not make sense. The former Vol can sit behind Jones to learn and heal his knee. But if Jones plays out that entire new contract in New York, Hooker wouldn’t see the field until he’s 29.
Giants Interest in Hendon Hooker a Draft Smokescreen?
New York could consider Hooker if he slips beyond the first round.
Or they could have ulterior motives for scouting him, according to Big Blue View’s Ed Valentine.
Wrote Valentine: “Perhaps the Giants, who have shown interest in Hooker throughout the draft process, could be checking on the health of his knee in the event teams interested in trading up for Hooker approach them about the 25th pick.”
It’d be a masterful bait-and-switch by general manager Joe Schoen. As interest in Hooker grows, teams might prefer a fifth year of club control on his rookie deal. The only way to ensure that is to pick Hooker in the first round — and Schoen is open for business.
Another theory: Hooker’s visit is more about Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt, who visited 1925 Giants Drive on April 12, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt is headed to New York for a Wednesday visit with the #Giants, per source. Hyatt is a potential first-round pick, and NYG owns No. 25 overall.
This Hooker-Giants summit could help multiple Vols. If the Giants like what they hear, they could even seek to pair Hooker and Hyatt up again with their top two selections.