When the Detroit Lions drafted Hendon Hooker in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the expectation from fans was that he could at best be the successor to Jared Goff and at worst, be a premium backup quarterback in the same vein as Teddy Bridgewater or Joe Flacco.
In his second season with the Lions, there were some strides taken, and he beat out Nate Sudfeld to get that QB2 job. That's why the Lions signed Kyle Allen in March; the thought process there was that he was going to be here to just push Hooker a little more before Hooker eventually beat him out.
It's still early on into training camp, but it looks like the opposite is happening at this time. Allen has the upper hand, and now it kind of looks like Hooker is fighting to regain it.
Allen has immediately jumped out in front of Hooker, and he's taking all the second-team reps. Does he look like Tom Brady out there? Is it time to call for a quarterback controversy where he could jump Jared Goff? Absolutely not.
But what it does look like is clean. Allen isn't making any mistakes out there. He's getting plays done and moving the team downfield. It isn't exciting, but it's safe. That's all you really want your backup to do. Carry the team safely while you need them to do it.
This doesn't mean Hooker is looking bad and that it's over for him; he hasn't, and it's not. Hooker has looked the best that I've personally seen him look, but I am intrigued to see what he looks like with the second team and during the preseason.
But he's making some good throws, and he's looking a little better in the pocket and under pressure. He also has that ability to scramble that Goff and Allen don't have. he had a nice scramble on Friday.
Where things are going to get really interesting is in Canton, Ohio, on Thursday for the Hall of Fame game against the Chargers. At this point, it feels like Allen will start that game, and Hooker will come in later in the game.
This is going to be where we really see what both guys can bring for the first time. These are live games, and you're not wearing that red jersey anymore. Last year, we saw that there was a big difference between Nate Sudfeld in practice and Nate Sudfeld in a game. Let's see what that looks like for both Allen and Hooker.
If Allen goes out and plays safe and has a great game against the Chargers, that's going to make a big difference. If Hooker doesn't, that's going to make an even bigger difference. I can't wait to see what happens.
