It was a long wait for Hendon Hooker, but it would always be worth it.
The Detroit Lions traded for the 68th pick in the draft, taking the Tennessee quarterback with their third-round pick.
Hooker’s final season with Tennessee ended in disappointment when he tore an ACL on November 19 against South Carolina.
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Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) runs into the end zone for a touchdown during a game against Missouri at Neyland Stadium on November 12, 2022. (Caitie McMekin/Red USA Today)
Before the season-ending knee injury, he had threw 27 touchdowns against just two interceptions while completing 69.6% of his passes for 3,135 yards, both career highs. He also rushed for 430 yards on 104 carries, five of them scoring.
In his four years with the Vols and Virginia Tech Hokies, passed for 8,974 yards completing 66.9% of his passes with 80 passing touchdowns and just a dozen interceptions. He settled in Tennessee, where he threw for 58 touchdowns and 6,080 yards.
Hendon Hooker of the Tennessee Volunteers warms up before a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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Hooker went 9-2 as a starter in 2022, and the Vols were the top-ranked team in the nation at one point with Hooker under center.
Hooker said last week that he would rank himself the No. 1 quarterback in this year’s draft, but was taken fifth.
Hooker will slide in as Jared Goff’s backup after the 2016 Los Angeles Rams’ first overall pick resurfaced in his first year in Detroit. He passed for 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions en route to a 9-8 record, narrowly missing the playoffs.
Hendon Hooker of the Tennessee Volunteers warms up before a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Goff has two years left on his contract with Detroit, but he has no guaranteed money left, so Detroit could fire him at any time.
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The Lions also drafted running back Jahmyr Gibbs (12), linebacker Jack Campbell (18) and tight end Sam LaPorta (34).