Notes: Hendon Hooker ranked among top rookies in best position to succeed

Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker is exactly where he needs to be in order to succeed, according to one NFL.com analyst.

That’s what you’d want for any rookie, but former NFL personnel executive Marc Ross thinks there’s no better spot for Hooker to get to where he wants to be. Ross listed the former Tennessee quarterback as one of the top 10 rookies in the best situations to succeed in their first year and beyond.

“Hooker is essentially afforded a redshirt year in Detroit. He gets time to fully recover from the knee injury, time to learn the offense — and time to learn from a similar player in starter Jared Goff — before potentially taking the reins down the road,” Ross said. “Once Hooker’s back to full health, I see a dual-threat quarterback who possesses the intangibles and football IQ to thrive at the next level.”

Meanwhile, NBC Sports’ Chris Simms thinks he may not need all that time. He says Hooker is ready to replace Jared Goff as a starter right off the bat.

“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, it can’t always just be let him go,” he said on Pro Football Talk.

Simms goes on to say he thinks Detroit’s bottom-tier defense may have been the cause for Goff’s success. When you can’t stop opposing teams, you may be given the green light to throw as much as you can to get the win. But that’s a whole other thing. Catch the full segment below.

And onto the rest of your notes.

• CBS Sports Cody Benjamin predicts some of the top games of 2023 when the schedules are released later this week. One guess is a Lions-Packers matchup on Turkey Day. “Detroit is a given to host on Thanksgiving, but now the Lions are also playoff-caliber, and the Packers will be looking to remain relevant in a post-Aaron Rodgers world.”

• Speaking of — schedule releases are a big deal for social media teams. The Lions media team comes in around the 4:30 mark.

• The Lions made this list of PFF’s most improved secondaries following free agency and the draft.

• This is awesome.

• The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner and Diante Lee made a team out of their favorite selections at each position, including Brian Branch as their top hybrid/slot defender. “I’m interested to see how he holds up in man coverage against the better slots in the NFL. If he’s capable of it, then Detroit found a huge steal in the top 50.” ($)