Hooker was enjoying an outstanding 2022 season with the Volunteers until he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in November, clouding his status for the 2023 NFL season. 'How NFL-ready are a lot of quarterbacks that you acquire? And that's just part of the normal development process and again, just a testament of I think we have the right situation for him just to come and sit back, see how Jared and Nate do things and just develop.' 'Obviously, he'll be a rookie and he's gonna have to transition into playing in a different type of scheme, but we're real excited about his upside,' Holmes said.

Hooker also is the first quarterback drafted by the Lions under third-year general manager Brad Holmes, who had decided to build out other areas of the roster before addressing the quarterback position through the draft. I just want to get in and do my job and continue to get better day by day.' I'm going to get annoying to him a little bit, but I'm just that type of person. 'I'm definitely going to be picking his brain as much as I can. Kiper's winners, reaches and values from Day 2: Every pick he liked and didn't like.'He's been in the league for a long time, and he's been doing a great job of developing every year to get better and better, and that's all you can ask for. 'To come in and learn everything, every nuance on how to be a pro first and foremost, and then just admire him,' Hooker said of learning from Goff. Hooker said he'll immediately embrace a role of being a 'sponge' under Goff's tutelage.

The selection of Hooker, who is recovering from a torn ACL, could therefore be a move for the future by Detroit. The Lions' front office has made it clear that Jared Goff is the franchise's starting quarterback for the moment, but the three-time Pro Bowler is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season. The Detroit Lions selected Hooker with the 68th overall pick in the NFL draft Friday night, making the former Tennessee star the franchise's highest drafted quarterback since Matthew Stafford went No. Hendon Hooker will continue his comeback trail in the Motor City. Eric Woodyard, ESPN Apr 28, 2023, 09:54 PM ET

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