2023 NFL Draft: Lions trade up in third round to select Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker

It was a long wait for Hendon Hooker, but it was always going to be worth it.

The Detroit Lions traded up for the 68th pick of the draft and chose the Tennessee quarterback with their third-round selection.

Hooker’s final season with Tennessee ended in disappointment when he tore an ACL Nov. 19 against South Carolina.

Before the season-ending knee injury, he had thrown 27 touchdowns against just two interceptions while completing 69.6% of his passes for 3,135 yards, both career highs. He also ran for 430 yards on 104 carries, five of them for scores.

In his four years with the Vols and Virginia Tech Hokies, he threw for 8,974 yards while completing 66.9% of his passes with 80 touchdowns through the air and just a dozen picks. He established himself at Tennessee, where he threw for 58 touchdowns and 6,080 yards.

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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 he would rank himself the No. 1 quarterback in this year’s draft, but he was the fifth taken.

Hooker will slide in as Jared Goff’s backup after the 2016 first overall pick of the Los Angeles Rams had a resurgence in his first year in Detroit. He threw for 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions en route to a 9-8 record, just narrowly missing out on the playoffs.

Goff has two years remaining on his deal with Detroit, but he does not have any guaranteed money left, so Detroit could cut him whenever it chooses.

The Lions have also drafted running back Jahmyr Gibbs (12), linebacker Jack Campbell (18) and tight end Sam LaPorta (34).