ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr explains why Hendon Hooker has serious first-round potential

There’s no question that Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has increased his NFL Draft stock this season with his play, proving himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation leading the No. 1 ranked team and offense in the country. ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. was asked by Get Up host Mike Greenburg about Hooker as a prospect, and how important his upcoming marquee matchup against Georgia will be in his evaluation.

“Individual games, Greeny, don’t mean a lot,” Kiper said. “I know it’s gonna be a huge game and everybody’s gonna look at Hendon Hooker and say this will define him as a pro prospect, normally that doesn’t. If you go too high on a guy or too low based on this one big game it usually leads you in bad directions.”

Kiper gave examples of quarterback prospects of the past that were put in similar situations in their collegiate careers that Hooker will be in this weekend, all of which went on to have great NFL careers regardless of how good or bad they played in their highly anticipated matchups.

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“I go back to (Dante) Culpepper when he played Auburn, Josh Allen when he played Iowa, (Ben) Roethlisberger playing Iowa, (Peyton) Manning against Florida, Troy Aikman against Rodney Pete, all those things don’t matter,” Kiper said.

Kiper believes Hooker’s performance in Athens this weekend won’t make or break him as a prospect, and that up until this point of the season he’s exhibited traits and proven he has the talent to play at the next level.

“At the end of the day it’s about do you have the talent necessary, Hooker doesn’t have elite arm strength, but he’s incredibly accurate. He doesn’t make mistakes, he does not throw interceptions, game manager?” Kiper asked. “More than that, this guy is a great decision maker, what he’s done at Tennessee with Josh Heupel’s been unbelievable.”

Hooker has thrown for 2,338 yards, 21 touchdowns, and just one interception so far this season, establishing himself as one of the most efficient and effective passer in the nation. He leads a Tennessee offense that is surrounded with weapons and ranks number one in yards and points per game, but Kiper still believes that he’s played himself into a great spot for the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft.

“He’s got great receivers, he’s got a great line, they can run the ball, there’s great talent around him, but Hendon Hooker has moved, I think, into the late first-round discussion, at worst a second-rounder,” Kiper said.