Daniel Jeremiah 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Hendon Hooker to Vikings amid Kirk Cousins Buzz

The Minnesota Vikings started planning for the future in the newest 2023 NFL mock draft from NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah.

Jeremiah projected Minnesota to select Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker with the No. 23 overall pick.

Hooker, who tore his ACL in November, would be a long-term successor to Kirk Cousins. Cousins is a free agent after the 2023 season, and moving to a younger, cheaper quarterback would make it a lot easier to re-sign Justin Jefferson while remaining under the salary cap.

The Vikings have tried this plan once before, using a third-round pick on Kellen Mond in 2021. The most memorable part of Mond's tenure might have been when then-head coach Mike Zimmer made it clear how little he valued the young QB.

Cousins has only gotten older, and his contract allows the team to make a clean break next offseason if it so chooses. Scheming out the succession plan is a little easier now than it was in 2021. Hooker is also the kind of prospect who fits with that timeline because his injury will probably keep him out for a chunk of the 2023 season anyway.

Still, it's surprising Jeremiah would have the former Vols star coming off the board so early. By the time Hooker would be replacing Cousins in 2024, he'll be 26 years old. Lamar Jackson, by comparison, is just entering his age-26 season after already having earned an MVP and two Pro Bowl nods.

Taking Hooker in the latter stages of the first round would be a reach as well. He wasn't among the top 175 overall prospects on Bleacher Report's latest big board, while ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had him as the No. 5 quarterback available.

Minnesota doesn't have a second-round pick, and it isn't on the clock in the third round until the No. 87 selection. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah might feel he has little choice but to be aggressive and take a QB earlier than expected.