2019 NFL Draft Prospects: Safeties - Amani Hooker, Iowa
A 2015 finalist for Minnesota’s Mr. Football Award and three-time all-state selection, Amani Hooker primarily contributed on special teams his true freshman season. He started six of ten games on defense the following year between free and strong safety. Last season the Iowa coaches created a safety/linebacker hybrid position for Hooker, which earned him Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year honors due to 65 tackles, 3.5 for loss, four interceptions, seven pass breakups and a safety.
The first thing that sticks out about Hooker is his NFL-ready build and physicality. He is outstanding in run-support and at shutting down wide receiver screens. Hooker shows a quick trigger, throttles down while searching through the trash and aims at the hips of the ball-carrier. He fights through blocks with extended arms and pulls of the jersey to free himself.
Hooker is a great edge-setter and will shoot openings when the opportunity arises. He is a strong tackler, who relies on technique and doesn’t let go off guys once he has them wrapped up. When he has a straight shot he can make guys feel it and he doesn’t shy away from jumping on top a pile or running into somebody late either.
Iowa ran a ton of two-high safety shells, where Hooker showed tremendous route anticipation and tried to bait quarterbacks into throws. He excelled at covering that hook-to-curl area and carrying receivers and tight ends over the seams. Hooker had an outstanding interception in the Northern Illinois game, where he was brought down over the slot late and when that receiver was passed on to the linebacker running a crossing route, he turned his eyes to find the outside receiver on a deeper in-breaking route and high-pointed the ball.
The Hawkeyes' defensive back was moved into the nickel later on in the season due to personnel reasons and had one of the highest snap totals in the slot, while allowing just 0.98 yards per coverage snap in that role. When covering inside guys in man, he shows patient hips and can be disruptive in press, especially on the goal-line. Overall I think he shows a lot of trust in the work he has put on in the film room and won’t hesitate to jump on keys in coverage.
While his combine performance was pretty good all-around, I don’t think Hooker is anything special athletically. His long speed to stay with somebody vertically is a major question mark for me and it’s not like he is necessarily explosive when jumping on breaks either. His role in coverage might be limited to the underneath areas or maybe playing high in a quarters look. Hooker simply doesn’t have the fluidity in his hips to adjust closing angles on the fly against talented skill-position players and that also shows off in coverage.
While I had my troubles really falling in love with Hooker on film because there are limitations to his game, there is nothing that you can really talk bad about with him. He is a rock-solid defensive back prospect, who can fill multiple roles and will play every snap hard, but could be taken advantage of in some spots. As far as his best fit goes, I believe he should be a big nickel for some team, who would instantly upgrade your run defense and bring a lot of football smarts to the field.
Grade: Third Round