Mike Florio and Chris Simms examine the Lions’ move to draft Hendon Hooker in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft and discuss what this means for Jared Goff’s future in Detroit.

Video Transcript

MIKE FLORIO: We went 29 picks from Anthony Richardson to Will Levis. Then Hendon Hooker, and there was some chatter on Friday. I saw Daniel Jeremiah, heard him say it some teams like Hendon Hooker more than they like Will Levis.

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah. I know that.

MIKE FLORIO: There's a chance he goes before Levis.

CHRIS SIMMS: Right.

MIKE FLORIO: When Levis was in the free fall. Hendon Hooker, 35 spots later, round 3 to the Detroit Lions. Chris, how surprised were you that Hooker lasted that long, and that the Lions became the landing spot?

CHRIS SIMMS: I was surprised he lasted that long. When all the networks came on Friday night, and we're talking about the teams. You had written about three teams looking to trade up late in the first round, and there was all that talk about action in the top of the second, I was the same way. I was going, ooh, I wonder who exactly they're trading for. I know more than a handful of teams, Mike, that had Hendon Hooker above Will Levis, more than a handful.

And when I say that, I mean more than five that, 100%, Hendon Hooker was above Will Levis. So I was very intrigued by that too. But yeah, man, when he got to the third round I was going, wow, I just can't believe he's still sitting here on the board. And when you saw Detroit coming up the scroll, you said, oh well, this just-- it seems like it makes too much sense.

I mean, he'd be that type of guy. He fits the offense they want to run. Really, potentially, he has more potential than Jared Goff in a lot of ways. So wow, to get that guy in the third round where I think a lot of teams, as you know, valued him and looked at him really as a first round pick. But between age, and his knee, and the fact that he can't contribute to your team this year right now, I think that hurt him a little bit. And then some people didn't like that offense, which was another BS complaint about him. But man, big-time move by the Detroit Lions.

MIKE FLORIO: Well, and it underscores for anyone who hasn't been paying attention, Jared Goff is not the long term answer in Detroit.

CHRIS SIMMS: Right.

MIKE FLORIO: We thought-- and this was the reasonable conclusion, when they did that trade two years ago, Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford with the Lions getting two first round picks and a third round pick, one of those first round picks was to please take the Jared Goff contract off our books.

And from the Lions perspective, the way it was structured, two years with Jared Goff and then see you later. Well, he played pretty well last year, so it's not see you later. He's got two years left under contract at a reasonable amount, and it may be see you later after that.

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah.

MIKE FLORIO: But they use that third round pick on Hendon Hooker. And if Hendon Hooker develops the way that people think that he could, the way they think that he should, at some point, just like it's going to be Ryan Tannehill to Will Levis, it's going to be Jared Goff to Hendon Hooker.

CHRIS SIMMS: No doubt. No doubt about it. I mean, that's what's exciting. The Lions, I think, had a really good draft. They might have over-drafted some guys in the first round, but I think they got guys that they had their eye on that they wanted. And if they had to draft them 10 spots before the draft community thought their value started, then so be it, and I got no problem with that.

And Hendon Hooker, yeah, he makes sense. He's a no nonsense, football, tough, stands in the pocket, makes throws, does all of that. And like I said, he's got more talent than Jared Goff. He's a better thrower of the football. He's a better athlete. Goff is good. Don't get me wrong.

But still, if you go back in the year and watch the year, they have to manage Jared Goff. They can't always just be let him go, or he got the benefit of-- which people lose sometimes when I have these conversations where they go, well, he had all these stats and all that. Well yeah. When your defense just lets teams go up and down the field on him, as a quarterback that sometimes could be very easy because it's just like, hey wait, we just got to go, go, go, go, go. And they're just I've given the green light to just pull the trigger and throw, throw, throw because we can't stop anybody. So he did have that benefit. I am not a believer in Jared Goff in the long term, and I think with that pick there the Lions are kind of saying the same thing.

MIKE FLORIO: And on that dynamic of the over-drafting, and you were very polite to the Lions. Jahmyr Gibbs at 12 felt like a reach. Campbell at 18, linebacker felt like a reach.

CHRIS SIMMS: Definitely.

MIKE FLORIO: Someone explaining to me over the weekend, what happens is a team can develop conviction in not enough players. If you trade down and you don't get the guy that you would have taken--

CHRIS SIMMS: Right.

MIKE FLORIO: --you have to have conviction in enough other guys that you're fine with it. Hey, you know what? We would have taken Jahmyr Gibbs at 12. We traded McDonogh 20, and he was gone by the time we got there, but that's OK because we had other guys we really like.

CHRIS SIMMS: Yes.

MIKE FLORIO: If you don't develop a strong conviction in enough guys, you end up over-drafting them.

CHRIS SIMMS: Yeah. Exactly right. And I think you have your eye on a need, right? So you do. And I think that group, Mike, you're explaining it perfectly. That's what that group would be up there. Can't you picture that? I mean, can't you picture Dan Campbell and Spielman sitting around and being like, oh, he's not a Lions guy. We got to get a Lions guy, right? I mean, that's who they are.

Oh, go get a Lions guy. We got our eye on these. There's 500 guys in the draft, but there's only like 15 that are Lions guys, right? And I think that's what they are. They don't care. They don't care that they-- I mean, Jack Campbell, yeah, they over-drafted him by 20, 30 picks probably. But they needed a middle linebacker, and they felt like he was the middle linebacker they liked, and they had the conviction like you talked about.

And that's where I don't fault them because it fits the need with the guy they wanted, even though, yes, it is too early in the draft. And it's a good conversation, and a lot of teams have this conversation about that balance, and the Lions just said F you, draft community. We'll take who we want, when we want. [LAUGHTER]

MIKE FLORIO: Yeah. That's right. And at the end of the day, if the guys work out it really doesn't matter.

CHRIS SIMMS: Right.

MIKE FLORIO: And this is where we get into that debate of value, and reaching, and, hey, they got the guys that they wanted, and they don't care if they could have traded down, gotten the same guys, while accepting the risk that we don't get those guys, but we have other guys we like just as much. For the Lions, they didn't, so they took the guys they really liked when they could get them.