Commanders' Ron Rivera: 'We Feel Very Comfortable' at QB amid Hendon Hooker Rumors

The Washington Commanders have been linked to former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, but head coach Ron Rivera insisted Thursday that he's comfortable with the team's current QB situation.

Rivera told reporters:

"As far as the quarterback position goes, we feel very comfortable with the guys we have. If you think about it, we have a young guy in Sam that coming out at one point was rated very high. We were fortunate, we believe, to get him where we got him. We got Jacoby Brissett coming off in what we believe was one of his better years as a player. It is one of those things that is funny because, typically, when you get quarterbacks, it is when they are coming off a tough time. We feel good about what we did there as well, and we will see what happens."

Multiple scouts who spoke with ESPN's Matt Miller recently said that the talk of Hooker being selected by the Commanders with the No. 16 pick is "real."

Hooker is one of the top quarterback prospects available this spring alongside C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis, though his status as a potential first-round selection has been hotly debated, with some draft experts believing he should go in the second frame.

Regardless of which round he's selected in, scouts are pretty high on Hooker.

"The guy that people are really sleeping on because of the ACL is Hendon Hooker," an AFC scout said, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, referring to the torn ACL the QB suffered in late November. "The guy was having a great f--king year, man. He was killing it. He's a little bit older, but he's mature and he can run into the huddle and lead men and have a presence about himself."

The Commanders enter the draft with Jacoby Brissett and 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell as the only quarterbacks on their roster, so it's not necessarily surprising to hear that they may select Hooker at No. 16.

Howell impressed the Washington coaches last season in the team's regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, completing 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception, in addition to rushing for 35 yards and one score.

However, he might not be ready to serve as the team's full-time starter, hence the signing of Brissett, a veteran with plenty of starting experience.

Hooker, meanwhile, put together a respectable 2022 campaign, completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns against two interceptions in 11 games. He also rushed for 430 yards and five touchdowns.

If Hooker ends up in Washington, it's possible he'll compete for the starting job in training camp. However, he may benefit more by sitting on the bench for a year and learning behind Brissett and Howell.