Quarterback Hendon Hooker’s age got a lot of notice heading into this year’s draft.
At 25, he’s more seasoned than most rookies entering the league and that was seen as a drawback for some because of the time it might take for him to develop into a starter. The Lions did not let Hooker’s age keep them from making him the 68th overall pick last month and head coach Dan Campbell said on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast that the team views Hooker’s age as a plus rather than a minus.
“We did go into this offseason saying that we wanted to bring in some competition at quarterback,” Campbell said. “We didn’t know exactly where that might be, who that would be at the time, but we did like Hooker. We knew he was coming off the injury, but there was something about him that was appealing. He’s very mature, he looks the part, he’s got a big arm. H’’s just got to learn to play in the NFL. He’s a pro, now, and I like the fact that he was older. We all kind liked the fact that he was older. I think you want your quarterback to be more mature.”
Hooker is coming off a torn ACL and Campbell said that the team views 2023 as “a redshirt year for him” since he’ll be rehabbing and Jared Goff remains on hand as the starter. Hooker’s been talked about as a possible successor to Goff, but Campbell said “it’s going to be a long time” before the team knows if that will be the case in Detroit. That would make Hooker even older, but it’s clear Campbell isn’t put off by that.
