Todd McShay explains why Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker climbs into Round 1 in latest mock

On Tuesday morning’s edition of the ESPN show Get Up, studio guest and former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum issued quite the statement on this year’s crop of quarterbacks. Of course, there’s been four dudes discussed more than the rest at the top of the draft, but Mr. Tannenbaum went a little off the beaten path to suggest Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker will be the best pro on down the line.

“When it’s all said and done, I think he’s going to be the best quarterback from this draft,” asserted to the room. Resident ESPN draft guru Todd McShay was one of the folks sitting by and he jumped in immediately after Tannenbaum’s comment to suggest the only way he’d have that sort of take is if the Hooker family paid him off.

“Mike T is about to have a few kids in college, so maybe he’s taking some money from the Hooker family,” McShay joked to a round of laughs, before diving into the more serious details of the Hendon Hooker situation. He also seems to like a certain frigid NFC North destination for the former Volunteer.

“But listen, I like Hendon Hooker a lot. I moved him up into the first round despite the injury. I think, for a team like Minnesota, with the cap hit that Kirk Cousins has, and the fact he was 23rd or 24th in QBR this past season. Doesn’t show up in big games. So, now with Hooker, you have a year to redshirt him — and yes, he’s going to be 26 next January. But he’s still a quarterback that you look at and say…he can be a future franchise quarterback. Based off the tape and based off the improvement the last two years that he showed at Tennessee.

“So I like him in Minnesota. I think it’s a great fit. And the Vikings have quietly been doing a lot of work on this quarterback class, so don’t be surprised if Minnesota drafts a quarterback, whether it’s Hooker or not.”

A couple bits of info there. One, that Hooker is rapidly rising up draft charts and could even go first round after he was projected as a third rounder in the aftermath of his ACL tear. But tape talks and Hooker’s is bedazzling, so you can see why pundits and executives have grown on the kid. His stock is soaring at the moment and McShay and Tannenbaum are on board.