BREAKING: Lions Draft S Brian Branch & QB Hendon Hooker In Round 2 & Round 3

The Detroit Lions traded back for the second time in the second round—this time falling down from 63 to the third round at Pick 68. With the 68th pick, the Lions have selected Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.

Here are the trade terms for that trade:

Lions get:

68th overall pick
139 overall (fifth round)
Broncos get:

63rd overall pick
183 overall (sixth round)
Note: The remaining picks at the bottom of this post are up to date through this pick.

Drafting a quarterback is obviously big news for Detroit, as the debate will rage on whether Jared Goff will be the team’s long-term quarterback beyond the remaining two years in his deal. But for the current moment, Goff is safe as starter, as Hooker is coming off a torn ACL.

However, Hooker has already started to drop back, showing significant progress from his injury back in November:

But, when healthy, Hooker was an explosive player for the Volunteers. In his past two years as starter, he threw for 58 touchdowns and just five interceptions—while running for an additional 10 scores.

Hooker will take time both to return from injury and adopt to an NFL-style offense coming from a very basic college scheme. However, at the very least, the Lions have found themselves a potential upgrade at backup quarterback with upside to challenge for the starting job long-term.
Talk about redemption! This is such a change of pace from what we got in the first three picks of the draft. Incredible value, fit, and just a feel-good story. Branch was the last remaining player in Kansas City for the draft, and he finally gets to go home.

Branch was a consensus first-round pick, with most projecting him to go early in the first. For the Lions to get him at 45 overall is a steal. Branch’s fall was likely attributed to his poor athletic testing, posting a RAS of 5.27. While that was middling, his best marks came in broad jump and his 10-yard split, translating to good explosion and a good athletic profile for his position. As our own John Whiticar put it, “think of him as an Amon-Ra St. Brown on the defense.”

Many are pegging Branch as a developmental piece but he has the potential to contribute soon. Not only is he developed in a very pro-ready Alabama defense, but he’s coming to a defense that may have opportunity for him to step in. Tracy Walker is still coming back from a torn Achilles, and as much love as we give him, his high level of play was for a single season. There was no guarantee he would return to that level of play for all of 2022, let alone before tearing an Achilles tendon. In addition, C.J. Gardner-Johnson is only signed for a single year. If he doesn’t stick around, then Branch immediately slides into a more significant role.

Regardless, Branch is a damn good player who will end up being a key piece on the back of the Lions defense; it’s just a matter of when. What a steal for the Lions and a great player who has got to have Aaron Glenn salivating.
Home for Detroit Lions news & rumors, free agency, NFL Draft, and Roster discussion, Detroit Lions Talk with MicroMike is a channel dedicated to all things Detroit sports. We’re bringing you a factual, in-depth analysis of your Detroit Lions. If you want your Detroit fix, this is the channel for you – click that SUBSCRIBE button, or click here:

You can also support us by joining the channel membership! Get exclusive Detroit Lions videos, mailbags & more when you join:

Mike Kimber is a Detroit Lions content creator who brings factual & statistical analysis, going against legacy mainstream media. I’m looking to bring a non-biased view to OnePride nation. Part of Lions Nation Unite, where we talk about all sports endlessly.

LNU Shop

MicroMike is on social media too:

You can follow me on News Break

Want more NFL news & rumors? Check out Chat Sports:
#lions #detroitlions #NFLDraft

This article was gathered automatically by our news bot. We help YouTubers by driving traffic to them for free. The featured image in this article is the thumbnail of the embedded video. Thank you for visiting Win Big Sports Network and wbsnsports.com. For more sports, news, and entertainment, follow us on Twitter @WBSNsports or like our page on Facebook.

#Sports #Video #Highlights