I wouldn't personally touch Hooker until early round 4 if I'm the Rams. Here's why:
*He turned 25 on Jan 13th, meaning he will be 26 before the end of his first year. So by the time the Rams got him starting he is at least 27 or 28. I'd prefer a guy in his early 20s.
*Blew out his ACL, and that may or may not be a big deal, but for a dual threat QB that likes to bail early from the pocket and run, it could be an issue. Esp at 215 lbs.
*THat Tenn offense was basically a vertical spread. With absolutely crazy spacing of the WRs. Just go look at highlights, the WRs are insanely spaced out, so his learning curve for an actual NFL offense is a consideration. At least for me.
IMO, the only reason he is getting talked about in round 1 or 2 is because the QB class this year is absolutely a mess. Young is almost criminally undersized, Stroud is a slow processor that didn't run as much as you'd think or like, Levis has no touch. Its fastball, fastball and more fastball. We get it, you have a big arm. Stop throwing rockets at guys 6 yards away. Oh, and gain some accuracy. Speaking of accuracy, hello Mr. Richardson. After that its a crap shoot. My god, McKey is a dinosaur from an age when guys like Stafford and Manning and Bledsoe roamed the earth. An absolute statue. After that, its either guys from spread offenses that are projections or guys 6' and under.
I don't inflate guys because the class around them is bad, so Hooker doesn't get my free pass. Now will I have 4 guys in round 1? Yes, simply because the draft demands it for one, and two, Young has that it factor, he just seems to make the right plays and can sense pressure and avoid it. Stroud is the best thrower of the football and he is plenty athletic enough to be a dual threat, I'd gamble on his processor speeding up under the right coach. Levis, if he can learn touch is a solid, solid kid. Richardson is a unicorn, who's numbers weren't AS bad as they seemed due to drops, and is super young, so I think like Levis, can get better with accuracy. Will they? Who knows, Jake Locker, who I loved, was inaccurate. And it never got better in the NFL and he was gone. So no guarantees on these guys.
Don't waste your time looking back, you're not going that way. - Ragnar Lothbrok
