With only one quarterback currently under contract for the 2023 season, the New Orleans Saints should be active in the NFL’s signal caller markets this offseason.
Between the open market of free agency and the NFL draft, they should have several opportunities to add talent to their roster. Free agents will include names like Lamar Jackson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Geno Smith and others. But if New Orleans is looking for the future of their franchise, the draft may be the way to go.
Jackson could be the only franchise quarterback available on the market but there is a good chance he stays with the Baltimore Ravens on a franchise tag. Outside of him, there is not a prime option to build a franchise around.
However, the Saints could find that elsewhere with draftable SEC passers like Kentucky’s Will Levis, Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Hendon Hooker of Tennessee. Hooker has had a brilliant couple of years in the Josh Heupel system that has supported his big arm and quick decision-making abilities.
Which has led to the common question: Can Hooker’s skills set translate to the NFL? Heupel’s system is built around half-field reads and receiver options that are based on the leverage of their opposing defenders. Those options alone will not be able to support a passer at the next level. But that is not to say that Hooker could not find success in the NFL. The idea of wide receiver options is not a foreign one to the Saints. In fact, that element has been a part of the offense since the Drew Brees/Marques Colston days and remained a core piece of Brees and Michael Thomas’ success as well.
Hooker is more than certainly not limited to being a downfield passer as well. He has thrown over 47% of his passes in 2022 within 0-9 yards of the line of scrimmage. If accuracy in that area is a concern, his 83.4% completion percentage there should alleviate those worries.
The bigger question will be whether or not the quarterback’s November ACL injury will heal in time for him to take meaningful snaps in 2023. Hooker’s injury was suffered in the team’s November 19 matchup with South Carolina. At the age of 24 years old (25 in January), he will already become the third-oldest quarterback ever drafted. His injury combined with his age understandably could give some evaluators pause. Many already expect that he will drop out of the first-round because of those very same factors. Bad for his draft stock, but potentially good for New Orleans who do not have a first-round selection to spend in 2023.
However, ACL injuries simply are not what they once were. The most immediate comparison would be Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and former LSU Tiger Joe Burrow. Burrow suffered ACL and MCL tears his rookie season on November 22 at the age of 24. Just a three-day difference relative to Hooker’s timing. Burrow was then able to return to start the next season on September 12 at 25 years old. Very similar to what would be asked to Hooker as well.
One major difference is that Burrow had access to NFL facilities and rehabilitation programs from day one of his injury. Hooker will not have that kind of access until a team rolls the dice on him in the draft. And considering the Saints’ track record with injuries over the years, optimism is hard to muster without evidence..
If New Orleans feels that Hooker’s injury recovery is headed in the right direction and that they can gameplan to his strengths once available, especially with some possible offensive coaching staff changes on the way anyway, taking a chance on the young Tennessee talent could be a worthy investment this offseason.
Saints should have keen interest in Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker's pending recovery - crescentcitysports.com
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