IDP 20/20: Malik Hooker

1.) Name – Malik Hooker

2.) College – Ohio State

3.) Height/Weight – 6-foot-2, 205-pounds

4.) Birth Date – 1996

5.) Class – Redshirt Sophomore (redshirted freshman season of 2014, played mostly on special teams in 2015, started in 2016 and became an instant sensation).

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6.) College Stats – 74 tackles, 43 solo, 5.5 TFLs, seven interceptions for 183 yards and three touchdowns, four passes defended and 0.5 sacks.

7.) NFL Draft Round Projection – First round, top ten overall.

8.) Current NFL comp – Byron Jones – Since coming out of UConn in 2015, Byron Jones has made the transition to playing safety full time in the NFL, when many had him slated to play cornerback at the next level. There’s a case to be made for Malik Hooker becoming a very good pro corner as well. This type of versatility will make him an asset in today’s pass happy league.

Jones’ second season in Dallas saw him rack up 73 solos and ten passes defended. He finished as a top-20 DB in tackle heavy leagues, and hasn’t even begun to reach his peak. Given a role which allows his speed and range to shine, Malik Hooker could have similar early-career success in the NFL.

9.) Best possible destination – New York Jets

Of the three quarterbacks who took snaps for the Jets last year, none had a completion percentage higher than 57.1%, or threw more touchdowns than interceptions. Forget 1,000 yards. No Jet gained more than 857 yards rushing or receiving (although Bilal Powell and Matt Forte each topped 1,000 total yards from scrimmage).

Three offensive tackles combined to start 27 of the team’s games. All three are now free agents. And to top things off, New York released two future Hall of Famers in Nick Mangold and Darrelle Revis, as well as Brandon Marshall, who’s currently 24th on the all-time receiving yardage list.

So how can the Jets justify taking a free safety with the sixth pick? Simple. When you don’t have an offensive line, any quarterback you draft is doomed. They already have two perfectly good lumps of cannon-fodder between Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty. New York really couldn’t go wrong with any pick – short of drafting a defensive linemen, perhaps.

Yet, the Jets need to draft the most talented defensive back they can find for several reasons. First off, New York’s defense managed the fourth fewest sacks and second least interceptions in the league, while giving up the fifth most points. There’s no need to explain the symbiotic relationship between pressure and coverage to this crowd.

No Jet had more than two interceptions last season. Calvin Pryor and Juston Burris are the only defensive backs under the age of 25. While Burris started just one game as a rookie in 2016, Pryor played a little over 76% of the team’s snaps, many of them as the eighth man in the box.

Hooker’s skills in coverage, particularly his range, make him an ideal fit to function in the free safety role opposite Pryor. He’s adept at playing the single deep safety and plays excellent man coverage when called upon. Solidifying their secondary should be priority number one in a division dominated by Tom Brady, whose arsenal of weapons continues to grow.

Head coach Todd Bowles broke out of obscurity in Arizona flexing a multiple safety attack born out of necessity, due to the Cardinals being decimated at linebacker. This time round, the gaping hole is on the backend. Drafting Malik Hooker could be the first step in rebuilding the secondary and fixing what’s shaping up to be the achilles heel of  their defense.  

10.) Worst possible destination – Similar to the conclusion we reached in our Jamal Adams 20/20, there is no bad place for a cover safety to land in today’s pass-happy league. The worst fate Hooker could suffer is being misused by a defensive coordinator who leans too heavily on the rookie in run support and inhibits his ability in defense of the pass.

11.) Best current skill – Range.

One of the most important traits a safety can possess, Malik Hooker’s range is the foundation of his playmaking ability. It shows up while Hooker is left is single high looks, asked to defend against the deep pass, as in the clip below.

He attacks screens, and jet sweeps with alacrity, weaving through blockers and snuffing out the ball carriers near the line of scrimmage.

12.) Skill that needs to be improved – Run Stopping.

You may hear an announcer call Malik Hooker “a big hitter,” but this description doesn’t accurately describe his style of play. Under the optimum circumstances, Hooker will lower the boom on a ball carrier. He is not, however, a smashmouth safety, out to lay waste to everything in his path. He’s quite the opposite, in fact.

Too often, Hooker tries to dive at a runner’s legs, or attempt a shoulder tackle, rather than wrapping his arms and taking the man down. This is especially true when left alone with a running back in the open field. Most of the tight ends in today’s game are athletic enough to hurdle a diving tackler. Trying to take the easy way out against a the typical NFL RB is a recipe for disaster and ceding free yardage.  

 

13.) Projected Dynasty Value – So, we’ve established that Hooker is a very good cover safety, whose tackling effort leaves something to be desired. How do we value those traits in preparation for our rookie drafts? Given the Byron Jones comparison above, is it reasonable to expect a Hooker’s path to dynasty relevance to resemble the one Jones’ career followed?

In tackle-heavy formats, Jones went from being the 99th ranked defensive back following his rookie season, to ranking as DB15 after year-two. He played 115 more snaps in 2016, and increased his solo tackle total from 47 to 67. Jones didn’t make a ton of plays on the ball, with just a single interception to his name in 2016, to go along with ten passes defended.

Hooker may be find himself on a similar tract, with an average tackle total bolstered by a high number of assist, rather than solos. It’s his ability to make plays on the football which should raise his standing in IDP leagues, however.

Based on their collegiate output, Hooker had as many interceptions in his final year at OSU as Jones managed in all four years at UConn, seven. And of those seven picks, three were returned for touchdowns. If this trend continues in the NFL, this is where Malik Hooker will butter his bread. Without generating turnovers and defending passes, Hooker’s IDP scoring output will be rather mundane. It’s difficult to envision him as a leading tackler.

14.) One-Year Wonder – After playing just two years of high school football, Malik Hooker came to Ohio State in 2014 and red-shirted his freshman season. He saw just 25 snaps on defense in 2015, playing primarily special teams. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, Hooker took the nation by storm, and catapulted his way to the top of the safety class on the strength of those seven interceptions we just mentioned. He enters the 2017 Draft as one of an astounding number of players with only a single season of collegiate football under their belts.

15.) Accolades Galore – For a guy with one year as a starter under his belt, Hooker stacked up a ridiculous amount of recognition and accolades. The Ohio State website list him as a First Team, All-American selection of the:  American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Walter Camp, USA Today, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and CBS Sports.

16.) Hoop Dreams – As mentioned above, Hooker didn’t start playing football until his junior year in high school. That’s because he was a standout basketball player for New Castle Junior/Senior High School, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He won two championships in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (a conference made up of ten western PA counties).

Hooker received very little interest from college basketball programs, big or small, however. Although it’s obvious how the ability to stick with a guard in basketball easily translates to chasing down down receiver’s in the open field.

17.) Small pool of suitors –  Football was different story. On the gridiron, Hooker was sought after by Arizona, Buffalo, Michigan, Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Youngstown State. He narrowed his search down to a final five of Ohio State, West Virginia, Michigan, Penn State, and Pittsburgh, before settling on OSU.

18.) Missed The Combine –  Surgeries to repair a damaged labrum and a hernia derailed Malik Hooker’s Combine bid. The recovery timetable is currently four-six months. Without a Combine or Pro Day workout, teams may have reservations about selecting Hooker in the top ten at the NFL Draft. These same reservations could carry over to your rookie drafts, making a Hooker a more affordable, but less certain dynasty contributor in year-one.

19.) Who Is Malik Hooker? –  NFL.com gave Hooker the highest grade of any safety in this draft. Given the all of the facts we’ve run through, this is a tough pill to swallow. Is Malik Hooker a talented safety? Certainly. Will he be the best safety in this draft class? Only time will tell.

Considering that Hooker played just two years of high school football, and a single year as a full-time safety at OSU, it’s fair to question how polished and ready he’ll be for a starring role as a rookie. Evaluators, having lost the opportunity to see him up close at the Combine and his Pro Day, may favor another prospect from this loaded safety class. This could work to Hooker’s advantage; landing him on better team, as he slides down the draft board.

Ultimately, Malik Hooker has a talent which is highly in demand in today’s NFL. Cover skills like his help level the playing field. As passing attacks evolve to feature tight ends with the athleticism of wide receivers, safeties like Hooker become a must-have for defenses hoping to keep them in check. He will be an asset to his eventual team, and should see high percentage of their defensive snaps.

20.) The following is a clip of one Malik Hooker’s more eventful performances from 2016; a seven tackle day against Michigan, with a pick six included. Enjoy.

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