The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, meaning that if you don’t have one, you need to be doing everything in your power as a franchise to find and secure one you think can be the guy to lead your team to the playoffs and contend for championships.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hope they found their future franchise QB in last year’s draft, selecting Pitt’s Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick. After a rough start, Pickett managed to string together a 7-2 record down the stretch, showcasing the leadership and execution to make must-have plays in the waning moments of games to secure victory.
The Steelers are looking at QBs in this year’s draft class, but mainly ones in the later rounds to secure the team’s QB3 in 2023 with the hope that player becomes Pickett’s long-term backup. This takes them out of contention for taking one of the top QBs early in this draft class, including Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, who will go within the top five picks come next Thursday night.
Given the need for potential future franchise QBs and the lack of options out there, we shouldn’t be surprised to see a team or two take a shot on a QB prospect outside of the top 10 picks. There is a chance a guy like Will Levis from Kentucky could fall out of the top 10 picks, or Stanford’s Tanner McKee could be in play for a team looking to secure a QB at the beginning of Day Two. However, the name most often floated around that Late Day One/Early Day Two range for QB prospects is Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, who was playing himself to be squarely in the first round before tearing his ACL against Georgia during the 2022 season.
The former Virginia Tech Hokie transferred to Tennessee in 2021 and enjoyed a great two-year stint with the Vols, throwing for 6,080 yards and 58 TDs to only five INTs in 24 games, before getting hurt. He also chipped in another 1,046 yards on the ground with ten rushing TDs, showcasing the skill set of a modern dual-threat QB in today’s game.
Hooker’s draft stock is up in the air as his film, character, and intangibles suggest he is a first round-worthy prospect. The knee injury coupled with the fact that he is already 25 years old makes his projection a bit harder, especially if he has to medically redshirt the entire 2023 campaign. Still, Hooker is currently ranked 40th overall, according to NFL Mock Draft Database, suggesting teams still view him as a top-50 selection in this draft class.
For teams outside of striking distance of the top names, Hooker is a logical target either in the latter half of the first round or at the beginning of Day Two. This scenario could play well for the Steelers, who are picking in “no man’s land” at #17 overall in the first round and #32 overall with the top pick in the 2nd. The Buccaneers. who pick at #19, the Vikings at #23, and the Giants at #25 have all done extensive homework on Hooker all pick behind Pittsburgh in the first round. The Texans at #33, the Colts at #35, the Titans at #41, and the Commanders at #47 have all shown notable interest in him and all these teams pick behind Pittsburgh in the second round.
Obviously, a trade takes two to tango and one of these teams wanting to move up either in Round 1 or in Round 2 to secure a guy like Hooker. Given the level of perceived interest in Hooker by other teams, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Steelers found themselves fielding calls from multiples teams looking to trade up to either #17 or #32 to secure their quarterback.
This would give Pittsburgh the opportunity to move back a couple spots, say with the Buccaneers at #19, to net an extra Day Three pick in that dead space between the fourth and seventh rounds while still being in range to take one of the top prospects on their board. Pittsburgh could also decide to trade back further, earning more of a haul in the form of multiple Day Two and Day Three picks. This would address more roster needs and add more depth to certain positions without sacrificing too much in value.
The NFL Draft is a fluid, unpredictable event in which literally can happen in real time. There is a legit possibility Hooker is off the board before Pittsburgh picks in the first round, but there is also a scenario where a top prospect like Levis falls to Pittsburgh at #17 and they can field calls for teams clamoring to take him. Either way, expect GM Omar Khan to be more open to working the phones than Kevin Colbert was in the past with the likely trade-down scenario centered around a team trying to acquire a QB like Hendon Hooker.
