The 2017 NFL Draft is coming at us quickly. The yearly extravaganza will take place in Philadelphia from Thursday, April 27 to Saturday, April 29 this year. Over the span of three days, a whole host of former college football stars will be finding a new home where they will hopefully impress during the offseason and be able to make a living by playing on Sundays.
Between now and the end of April we will be featuring some of the stars of tomorrow. Many of these are names from big time college football programs you will recognize, while some will be new to all but the most dedicated followers of the sport.
Today we look at Malik Hooker, a safety out of Ohio State who will likely be the first player at his position taken in late April.
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On talent alone, Hooker, the best safety in the Big Ten last season, is a lock as a top 10 pick in the upcoming draft. The former Buckeye though will have to prove his health in the pre-draft process given his recent labrum and hernia surgeries. One school of thought is that this was a good way to get out ahead of potential future problems, but the rehab time (which could be up to six months) may scare teams away with those early picks if he will not be ready for training camp.
The modern NFL requires safeties who can do a little bit of everything, but the one constant is that the best at the position have unlimited range and are magnets for the ball. Looking at this highlight video you can see that this is exactly what Hooker brings to the table with his outstanding athleticism and ability to read the quarterback, When you take into account that Hooker has just one year of experience at the position you can see how high his ceiling is and why teams want his play making ability in their secondary.
Check out more highlight videos like this on the Just Bombs Productions YouTube Channel
