Scouting Notes
- Good veteran pocket presence.
- Lightning quick release.
- Throws outside the numbers are shockingly just as accurate as throws down the middle.
- Great decision-making.
- Amazing option runner.
- Usually very mobile, but occasionally stands as a statue.
- Can stare down receivers.
- Didn’t deal with a lot of pressure.
- Not elusive, needs to come to a full halt to make a defender miss, which results in him not making any defenders miss.
- Some really great games, but some really poor games as well.
Short Summary
Hendon Hooker has been surging up draft boards recently, getting hype as a potential 1st-round selection. There is merit to this surge, as Hooker displayed some great bankable traits. He showed great accuracy at times, pocket presence with elite poise, top-notch decision-making, mobility, and best of all, the ability to rise to the challenge. His game against Alabama can’t be overlooked. There are traits to get excited about.
Still, there are way too many concerning aspects of his game, some that even caveat the good ones. For starters, he faced one of the lowest pressure rates in all of College Football. That is wildly concerning, since his only breakout campaign came when he was the oldest player on the field and when he had no pressure. That is very damning and puts his whole production profile under a huge asterisk. Additionally, he wasn’t even dominant all year, showing some terrible games across the board. In those games, he made bad decisions, had terrible accuracy, and couldn’t consistently drive his team down the field.
Combine those concerns with his age and the laundry list of injuries, and you get a highly questionable prospect, with an asterisk next to his biggest calling card. For those reasons, I’m out.
Scouting Card Key
- Age refers to the age of the player come draft night, rounded to the nearest half-age.
- Percentage numbers in the Player Info and Combine Stats sections – This refers to the percentile that number belongs to among all players at his position, going back nearly a decade.
- QB Type – The QB Archetype (one of Surgeon, Runner, and Hybrid), as detailed in my QB Scouting Guide.
- GP – Games Played
- INTs – Interceptions
- AY/A – Air Yards per attempt. I always choose this stat over Y/A, since Yards per attempt can be inflated by great yards after catch plays, which are mostly unrelated to QB play.
- BTT and BTT% – Big Time Throw and Big Time Throw Rate. The rate is how many of those you completed relative to how many passes you’ve completed in total.
- TWP and TWP% – Turnover Worthy Plays. These are plays deemed by PFF Scouts and Graders to be plays that should have been a turnover, but by circumstance (a dropped Interception for example) it didn’t end up as one. (The percentile of this stat is of course the inverse, the higher the rate, the lower the percentile.)
- Adj. Comp. % – Adjusted Completion percentage. This assumes all passes that should have been caught were caught, therefore not penalizing a Quarterback too much for dropped passes.
- TTT – Time to Throw. This stat doesn’t say much about the QB play, but it gives you an insight into the situation in which a player was playing. Certain players get cushioned and never hit in college, then falter after a few NFL hits.
- P2S% – Pressure to Sack rate. This stat measures what percent of a player’s pressured plays ended in a sack. This stat helps quantify pocket mobility and pocket presence. (The percentile of this stat is of course the inverse, the higher the rate, the lower the percentile.)
- Clutch – The ability to perform in high-pressure situation, not necessarily end-of-game.
- OTN – Outside the Numbers. This is the player’s ability to throw accurately to the edges of the football field.
Credit
Advanced stats – pff.com
Scouting card template / idea – Jordan Pun @Texans_Thoughts
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