2017 Colts Rookie Class Recap: Safety Malik Hooker

Malik Hooker’s rookie year ended in disappointment with an injury, but he showed plenty of talent and promise to get Colts fans excited for his future.

The Colts’ front office had to be jumping for joy when Malik Hooker fell to them at the 15th pick in last year’s draft. Chris Ballard’s first pick as the general manager of the Colts played extremely well as a rookie, which validated selecting him with the team’s first round pick.

Hooker was only able to play in 7 games before suffering a serious knee injury against the Jaguars that abruptly ended his rookie season, but he made a major impact when he was on the field.

He picked off 3 passes during those 7 games, and they were all pretty spectacular. His most notable interception was off of a bobbled pass against the Seahawks that showed he had the ball skills of a wide receiver.

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Hooker also broke up 4 passes in the first half of the year, which is a pretty decent total for a free safety primarily playing in the deep middle portion of the field.

He did not play particularly well in run support, but that’s not what he was drafted for. If he can play alongside a great run defender like Clayton Geathers at strong safety, that should mask Hooker’s deficiencies in run defense.

Hooker was compared to Seahawks safety Earl Thomas coming into the draft, and he lived up to those comparisons when he was able to play.

Hooker has a bit of a checkered injury history, and it will take him a while to recover from tearing both his ACL and MCL. If he is able to make a full recovery, he has the potential take a step forward and become an elite safety in 2018.

Next: Frank Gore’s Return to the Colts Depends on Andrew Luck’s Health

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