NFL draft insider predicts NFC team will trade into first round to select Vols QB Hendon Hooker
Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker has been generating a lot of first-round hype over the last couple of weeks. And it's starting to look like that hype is legitimate. Fans are always wise to be cautious this time of year when it comes to draft rumors and nuggets, but with multiple teams reportedly showing interest […]
Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker has been generating a lot of first-round hype over the last couple of weeks.
And it's starting to look like that hype is legitimate.
Fans are always wise to be cautious this time of year when it comes to draft rumors and nuggets, but with multiple teams reportedly showing interest in Hooker, it seems like one of those teams will decide to take the former Vol in the first round.
On Thursday morning, ESPN NFL Draft insider Mel Kiper Jr proposed a new scenario that involves Hooker.
Kiper has the Los Angeles Rams trading into the first round and selecting Hooker with the No. 31 overall selection (which is originally the Kansas City Chiefs' draft pick).
From ESPN: Why not do this if you're the Rams? Stafford had a rough season in 2022. They could get Hooker's fifth-year option here, and there is past precedent of teams trading into the final spot in Round 1 (Lamar Jackson in 2018). As I've written before, I'm not as high on Hooker as others — he's No. 54 overall in my rankings — but I do think he'll land in Round 1. This is a fit I could see happening.
This would be an odd scenario for Hooker. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is 35 years old and undoubtedly nearing the end of his career, but he's under contract for four more seasons. The Rams could move on from Stafford after the 2025 season, but it seems unlikely they'd be able to move on from him before then. Stafford's dead cap hit if he's released goes from $111 million in 2023 to $91.5 million in 2024 to $42 million in 2025. It drops to $18.5 million after the 2025 season.
I doubt Los Angeles would be able to trade Stafford at this stage of his career (and with the cash he's owed), so it doesn't make a lot of sense for the Rams to draft a 25-year-old quarterback just for him to sit three seasons.
Crazier things have happened in the draft, but this is a scenario that seems very unlikely for Hooker.
