Lions' Hendon Hooker Comments on Jared Goff and Recovery from Knee Injury

The Detroit Lions selected former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft on Friday, possibly to be their quarterback of the future.

Hooker, who is recovering from a torn ACL, met with the media for the first time as a Lion on Friday night, and told reporters that he recently started running and hasn't felt any pain in his knee.

Additionally, he said he's excited to learn behind the team's current starter, Jared Goff, during the 2023 campaign.

"I'll be a sponge, come in and learn every nuance of how to be a pro," Hooker told reporters. "Just admire him. He's been doing a great job of developing every year. I'll be picking his brain whenever I can."

Hooker tore his ACL during a game against South Carolina in November and underwent surgery one month later.

The 25-year-old's doctor sent a letter to each of the NFL's 32 teams ahead of the draft informing them that the quarterback is "on a fast recovery trajectory" and is expected to be fully cleared by the first weekend of the regular season, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Hooker also posted a video of himself doing some drills on Wednesday:

It's unlikely Hooker starts over Goff in 2023, but there's no doubt he'll get the opportunity to win the starting job at some point in the future.

Hooker began his college career at Virginia Tech in 2018 before transferring to Tennessee in 2021.

He went on to have an impressive 2022 campaign before tearing his ACL, completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdowns against two interceptions in 11 games, in addition to rushing for 430 yards and five scores.

Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department ranked Hooker as the 10th-best quarterback in the 2023 class behind C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, Will Levis, Tanner McKee, Clayton Tune, Jake Haener, Jaren Hall and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen wrote of Hooker before the draft:

"Hooker is a Day 3 flier. His adequate athletic ability, velocity over the middle, and years of starting experience give him a decent baseline as a backup. However, Hooker showcased very few NFL reps and high-level NFL traits at Tennessee, on top of being a very old prospect at 25-years-old. Hooker will need years of development with respect to progressions, accuracy outside the numbers, and pocket management, which is a concerning profile for such an old prospect."

Goff won't become a free agent until 2025, so Hooker has a solid amount of time to learn behind the veteran as his backup in hopes of potentially taking over as the franchise's starter.