5 prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft with the best chance to be Tennessee Titans
By Will Lomas
5. Hendon Hooker QB, Tennessee
I don't know how they would do it, but the Tennessee Titans have been all over Hooker throughout the draft process.
Going back to the Senior Bowl where everyone raved about how he was the most impressive quarterback there, despite not being able to throw due to his ACL injury. While at the Senior Bowl, he was "coached" by new Titans passing game coordinator Charles London and he also spent time with Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon.
Vrabel was also very prominent at Tennessee's Pro Day and was seen speaking with Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel. Now, to be fair that could all have been due to proximity, except that Vrabel chose to go to Tennessee's Pro Day instead of Kentucky's to watch Will Levis (though Carthon did go to Kentucky's).
Here is where it gets even more interesting. They followed all of that up with at least one private visit (maybe two because there have been reports of a private visit and a local visit). All of that together is an absurd amount of interest in a quarterback that doesn't really make sense at 11th overall considering his age, injury, and potential transition to a more difficult offense.
It makes infinitely more sense if the Tennessee Titans believe that a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers might be interested in a trade-up for someone they love (like Tennessee OT Darnell Wright). Since the Steelers have two second-round picks, let's say they offer the 17th pick and the 49th pick for the 11th pick. Taking a flyer on Hooker could make some sense if they really like him, but know that drafting him at 11 would be overvaluing him considering his ACL injury.
Walking away from the first round with a quarterback that should probably spend a year learning and getting healthy will be hard to swallow, but coming away from Day 2 with a pass catcher like Zay Jones or Jalin Hyatt, a bully like Steve Avila or Cody Mauch, and a tight end like Tucker Kraft, Sam LaPorta, or Luke Schoonmaker would make everyone feel much better.