No single player has been more successful at Tennessee under head coach Josh Heupel than quarterback Hendon Hooker. But a rocky start to Hooker’s professional career began Monday when the Detroit Lions cut Hooker ahead of the start of his third professional season.
The bad news for Hooker resparked a debate about how Josh Heupel’s offense translates to the NFL with The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen, who covers both the NFL and NFL Draft, criticizing Heupel’s offense.
“That Tennessee offense puts skill position players in a developmental hole,” Nguyen posted.
“Tennessee fans seem shocked by this but the offense has the QB waiting for an isolated receiver to run a deep choice route,” Nguyen followed up. “Extremely productive in college with the right talent. Doesn’t translate the pros.”
It has undoubtedly been a rough start for Heupel-era Tennessee skill position players in the NFL. Velus Jones Jr. had a very bad stint with the Chicago Bears and Jalin Hyatt has been unable to find his footing with the New York Giants to this point.
Cedric Tillman has shown flashes in Cleveland, especially after the Browns went to quarterback Jameis Winston last season. Tillman totaled 29 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns last season with most of that coming in the back half of the season. He’ll have more chances to play and find his footing on a bad Browns team this fall.
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But more than anything, it is too soon to tell whether Heupel’s system stunts the development of players in the NFL. The sample size is small and most of the skill players to make it to the NFL were lower rated recruits who overachieved original expectations at Tennessee.
This year could be interesting with Tennessee rookies Dylan Sampson and Dont’e Thornton both pushing for playing time. Nguyen also referenced a quote from Thornton during camp that discussed his adjustment from Tennessee to the NFL.
“That was mostly every team’s main talking point was asking with the offense we run here at Tennessee if I’m able to run these pro-style routes,” Thornton said. “I had to be very intentional, playing two seasons here at Tennessee, we don’t have the same route tree that most pro-style offenses have.”
For Hooker, where he lands is extremely important. He struggled with Detroit, who drafted him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but it was just one season and another training camp. Hooker also spent a large portion of his rookie season working back from the ACL injury that ended his collegiate career.
Even Lions head coach Dan Campbell said last week that a change of scenery could be good for Hooker. His accuracy, arm strength and athleticism is strong enough that he can make it in the NFL as a backup. But Hooker needs a good landing spot with a coach he’s comfortable with so he can get his feet under him.
