K.J. Wright sees Hendon Hooker as ‘a home run’ pick for Seahawks at No. 5
Other than Florida’s Anthony Richardson, the quarterback most heavily linked to the Seattle Seahawks as a potential future franchise signal-caller is Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.
Even though he’s 25 years old and coming off an ACL tear that ended his college tenure prematurely, Hooker is projected to be at least a Round 2 pick if not a Round 1 selection. Former Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright believes the Seahawks have a “home run” of a pick if they take Hooker... at No. 5 overall.
Here’s a snippet from his new show “KJ All Day” with co-host Gee Scott, who thought for sure Wright was going with Anthony Richardson to Seattle.
And with the 5th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft the Seattle Seahawks take….
This guy would be perfect right? https://t.co/14pq3wqmQu pic.twitter.com/ABeW7QBRcn — KJ (@KJ_WRIGHT34) April 26, 2023
“There’s this guy that I watched all season long,” Wright said. “SEC Offensive Player of the Year, comes from a football background, plays quarterback, [and is] coming off an ACL injury. When I look at the quarterback from the Tennessee Vols: Henderson [sic] Hooker.
“Gee, if the Seahawks take this man at pick number five, this will be a home run. I look at this man, I see a Super Bowl winning quarterback with Henderson.”
I had to double check and Hendon Hooker’s first name is actually Alan and there’s no Henderson in his name, so this is just K.J. misspeaking a couple of times.
Hooker threw for an incredible 58 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions in his two seasons running Tennessee’s spread offense, and in 2022 he was a Heisman Trophy contender pretty much up until the loss to Georgia. There are concerns about his adjustment into the NFL from Josh Heupel’s spread offense, which is extremely quarterback-friendly but isn’t a system that necessarily translates well at a pro level. Of course, he’s got the serious injury and he’s 25 years old, so his draft stock is uncertain.
Needless to say, even if Hooker goes in Round 1, there’s pretty much no chance he’s going in the top-10, never mind to No. 5 in Seattle. Maybe there’s a chance at No. 20 or with one of the second-round picks, but not that high.
Source: Field Gulls
