Lions HC Dan Campbell makes strong statement about Hendon Hooker's age
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Hooker, the 2022 SEC offensive player of the year, fell to the third round in part because of concerns about the torn ACL he suffered in Tennessee's loss to South Carolina last November. Another […]
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.
Hooker, the 2022 SEC offensive player of the year, fell to the third round in part because of concerns about the torn ACL he suffered in Tennessee's loss to South Carolina last November.
Another concern with Hooker during the pre-draft process — at least according to the national media — was his age. Hooker turned 25 in early January which makes him older than some of the quarterbacks that are already in the NFL.
I never really understood the concern with Hooker's age. Even if he doesn't start a game until 2024 when he's 26, he'll still have a solid 8-10 years (potentially) where he could serve as a franchise quarterback in Detroit. Considering how difficult it is to find a franchise quarterback, that doesn't seem like a major issue.
And I'm not the only one who feels that way. Lions head coach Dan Campbell doesn't see Hooker's age as an issue either. In fact, Campbell sees it as a positive.
Campbell appeared on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast recently and he said that likes that Hooker is "older".
“We did go into this offseason saying that we wanted to bring in some competition at quarterback,” said Campbell. “We didn’t know exactly where that might be, who that would be at the time, but we did like Hooker. We knew he was coming off the injury, but there was something about him that was appealing."
"He’s very mature, he looks the part, he’s got a big arm," added Campbell. "He’s just got to learn to play in the NFL. He’s a pro, now, and I like the fact that he was older. We all kind of liked the fact that he was older. I think you want your quarterback to be more mature.”
This just goes to show that the concerns of draft analysts aren't always the same as the concerns of NFL teams. In this case, Hooker's age was consistently pointed out as a major negative when in reality it was viewed by at least one NFL team as a massive positive.
In other words, don't believe everything you hear during the pre-draft process.
