Malik Hooker Declares for 2017 NFL Draft: Latest Comments and Reaction

Ohio State safety Malik Hooker is going to capitalize on a successful season by declaring for the 2017 NFL draft.

The redshirt sophomore safety announced his intent via a statement on Twitter:

Hooker had two years of college eligibility left. Like so many elite recruits for the Buckeyes under head coach Urban Meyer, the odds of Hooker staying the course were slim. 

It seemed inevitable that Hooker would jump to the NFL at the first available opportunity when his glowing scouting reports started making the rounds. 

In October, one NFL scout raved about Hooker's upside to Albert Breer of The MMQB: "Dude is the best player on the field. I like him better than both safeties last year [Karl Joseph and Keanu Neal]. ... First-rounder. Physical, quick, fast and explosive with a great nose for the ball."

Breer even noted that he's heard some scouts bring up Ed Reed's name as a comparison for Hooker. It's hard to do better than Reed, who was a five-time first-team All-Pro and 2004 Defensive Player of the Year, in terms of the best safeties of all time. 

A playmaking safety who can defend the run and create turnovers in the passing game won't have to wait long before hearing his named called on draft day. Hooker was the soul of Ohio State's defense in 2016, regularly involved in crucial moments that turned the tide. 

NFL teams have shown they will go after safeties early, as Joseph and Neal both went in the top 20. Hooker has more potential than either of those players and isn't far from reaching his upside at this young stage of his career.