Allen Park – The Detroit Lions have found a promotion in their backup quarterback. After trading back twice, and being knocked out in the second round, the Lions selected Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round with the 68th overall pick.
Hooker, 25, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in late November, is going off two stellar seasons at Tennessee. In 24 games, he completed 68.8% of his passes with 58 touchdowns to only five interceptions.
“You’ve all heard, ‘Guys, spread offense, quick, they go high speed, all that stuff,'” said Brad Holmes, Lions general manager, “all of that stuff.” on tape. It was his urgency and pace throughout the game. He was playing very urgently. He was playing rough in the running game. He was playing wildly at that passing game.
“I kind of like the way he plays,” Holmes continued. And there were little things that kind of set me apart in terms of, you know, he was scoring touchdowns, and instead of sitting on the bench with his headset on, or talking to the coach in the box, he’s standing on the sidelines waiting to congratulate his extra-point team. So, those little things. Like that, you show the kind of person he is. Regardless of background and all that, he’s just a good footballer and if he wasn’t, then we wouldn’t have acquired him.
Holmes prioritized improving the state of Detroit’s backup. The team was forced to cut the underperforming tandem of Tim Boyle and David Blue at the end of last year’s training camp.
“I feel like last year we left training camp kind of sliding to home plate trying to fill the backup quarterback role,” Holmes said of the NFL in late February. “It’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we’re not in that situation again. So that’s something we’ll need to address whether he’s here in free agency or coming up in the draft. But it’s something we’ve had a lot of conversations about. I have to do a job. Best to make sure you correct that.”
After cutting Boyle and Blow, the Lions signed Nate Sudfeld to backup rookie Jared Goff last season and re-signed Sudfeld to a one-year deal this offseason.
Also on the combine, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said the most important trait a team can identify in a backup is the ability to win games in the pinch, with an emphasis on their ability to execute on third down and in two-minute drive situations.
“There are a number of backups – the majority of backups out there – where we just keep the train on the tracks and let’s run this thing,” Johnson said. “The really good ones, the best backups, are the ones who can still win a ball game for you. I think if you look at the win-loss record of the backups in the league, it’s hard to find who’s over 500. The guy we had in Miami is Matt Moore “And I think Matt Moore was one of the best backup quarterbacks. He had a winning record as a starter, and we knew if a game was on the line, he could come in and we wouldn’t miss a moment. And the guys believed in him.”
As a starter for Tennessee, Hooker posted a 15-8 record, including a 9-2 mark last season before he was taken down by a knee injury. He said he’s making good progress with his recovery from the injury and has recently started running on a zero-gravity treadmill.
“I take it day by day, keep controlling what I can control and maintain great behavior and work,” Hooker said. “That’s all I can do. While I’m on my visits, working in the hotel room, I keep my upper body and lower body in some shape. When I got home, everyone was like, ‘Man, you look really big.'” Because I’ve been doing a lot of push-ups, a lot of sit-ups, and a lot of sit-ups. … So, it was hard and it took day after day. Whenever you’re ready to rock and roll, this will be a sight to see.”
Prior to the selection, the Lions initially shipped the 55th pick in the second round, as well as the sixth rounder (#196), to the Kansas City Chiefs for picks No. 63, 122, and 249. The Chiefs used the No. 55 pick to take SMU receiver Rashee Rice.
Detroit then shipped that No. 63 draft pick to the Denver Broncos, along with No. 183 in the sixth round, for No. 68 in the third round and No. 139 in the fifth.
It marked the Lions’ third and fourth deals in the draft. The team previously moved back from sixth to 12th in the first round, before selecting Alabama linebacker Jahmir Gibbs. And on Friday, they used a fifth-rounder (No. 159) to go up two points in the second round to take Alabama safety Brian Branch into 46th overall.
Big Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown announced Hooker’s selection directly in the draft in Kansas City.
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers
“Student. Incurable problem solver. Amateur baconaholic. Introvert. Infuriatingly humble music fanatic.”