The New Orleans Saints caught a lot of attention this week by hosting former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker on one of their 30 official pre-draft visits, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport kindly reminding his 4 million Twitter followers that the Saints are scheduled to pick at No. 29 in the first round of this year’s NFL draft.
Which led to everyone asking whether the Saints could make a bold move and pick the prolific passer in Round 1 — after having inked a $150 million contract with Derek Carr?
If Hooker’s knee was fully healthy, if he were two or three years younger, and if he was coming out of a system that helped him cultivate more NFL-applicable skills: maybe, but then he would be a prospect going in the first round’s top ten picks, not its final ten. That isn’t the situation we’re in.
I’m saying this as someone who’s been singing Hooker’s praises since October: there’s a lot to like about Hooker, but not enough to where he should be the highest-graded prospect when the Saints are on the clock. Especially considering the state of their team. New Orleans needs to prioritize immediate help in the early rounds of this draft. After moving so strongly to install Carr as their quarterback, they must find some upgrades along the defensive line and a couple of positions on offense — wide receiver, tight end, running back, and maybe left guard.
There’s still a scenario where drafting Hooker makes sense. If the Saints can get at least one player (preferably two) who will be on the field for 30 or more snaps each week, then they should consider a luxury pick like Hooker. Having him on the roster to develop as a Plan B in case Carr doesn’t meet expectations in 2023 and 2024 could be wise, seeing as Carr’s contract was written with an exit ramp in 2025 if it’s needed.
Yeah, Hooker would be 28 by then. That can’t be helped. But he would have several years of experience in the offense to go with his ample reps at the college level between Tennessee and Virginia Tech. He’d still be in his athletic prime and could feasibly start for ten years, maybe. It’s not an ideal situation, but drafting a replacement plan to the quarterback you just agreed to pay $150 million isn’t ideal, either. Compromises are critical in the NFL.
So will the Saints call Hooker’s name on draft day? Maybe, maybe not. They don’t often pick many of the prospects who visit the facility on these exclusive pre-draft meetings (and it doesn’t help that we often only see half of them reported in the first place). It’s a possibility, but anything’s possible. We’ll just have to see how it shakes out. The Saints could very well decide that Hooker is their best and only option at No. 29, unlikely as it feels. But if that’s the case there’d be a lot to criticize about the talent evaluation that led them to such a conclusion.
