Colts select Malik Hooker [Merge]

[colts2dasuperbowl]

44 minutes ago, COLTS449 said:

I wanted Takk more than any other player. And say what you want, but that (The way he just acted) is one of the reasons we should've taken him. So passionate. YES that is passion. Relentless. No holds bared. Non stop motor, freak athlete. Kids gonna be a superstar and I really wish we had taken him.

After watching Tak interview with Dieon, I love that we didn't pick him. Those type of guys really are double edged sword imo. they can be really toxic in the locker room. lol

[BleedBlu8792]

2 minutes ago, Johnny U. said:

Why would you not want a player who can play several positions? And play them well.

 

All he did at Michigan is thrown out in the NFL. He's not going to be a LB'er or RB in the NFL. Hooker was the better player period, and where they were drafted is a clear indication of that.

[James]

1 hour ago, bananabucket said:

Mind blowing how many complaints this pick got.  Mind blowing.

 

Yup. Truly shows how little knowledge some people have.

[deedub75]

I already have images in my head of Hooker whiffing on Fournette. 

[SaturdayAllDay]

10 minutes ago, myic90 said:

Some of our more knowledgeable members know what we're getting with him, but I feel a lot of our more casual forum members were put off by what Jon Gruden said. I figure if you're going to criticize the pick from watching 10 seconds of espn air time, might as well watch more tape right?

 

So to reintroduce some perspective, here's an intro video to what a stud Malik Hooker is and what he'll bring to our defense.

 

 

My biggest question is how exactly we're going to implement him into our schemes? Can someone who understands Colt's Xs and Os shed some light? I don't think we run a cover 3 although I'm sure we mix some looks.

 

I think what I come away with from today is that if this pick fails, it's on coaching.

Well with him being a deep centerfield FS, we can run the "3 safety" package that we have been running much more effectively. We can drop Hooker into deep coverage, bring Geathers down to ILB and have him cover TEs/RBs from there, and then either drop Butler back as well or set him up in coverage on an inside WR vs certain sets. Could also sub in Green to do blitzes at times. Lots of possibilities to expand upon. Basically Hooker should be set up to do what Adams did for us last year, but better. 

[Surge89]

1 minute ago, Johnny U. said:

You must be the same guy who tried to defend Heremans a couple of years ago.

 

 

Lol.  No actually me and coffee a couple of years ago adamantly stated he fixed nothing.  

 

But it I see you are enamored with Peppers.  Who I think is a very good football player.  But that's it.  A player who isn't great at anything but decent at everything. 

 

Hooker can get your offense the ball and score points for your team at a very elite level.  Peppers can't.  In fact Hooker is the only player in this draft that has they type of potential out of the gate. 

[Steamboat_Shaun]

I cannot wait for Hooker to pick off Watson for the first time, I'm going to enjoy that.

[COLTS449]

2 minutes ago, colts2dasuperbowl said:

After watching Tak interview with Dieon, I love that we didn't pick him. Those type of guys really are double edged sword imo. they can be really toxic in the locker room. lol

 

Its what I call passionate. We need a team full of kids like him. Alpha dog, in your face types who are monsters on the field and act like that. All that was, was passion but you could see the cockiness too and I love that. We should've traded back up for him. Love that kid. He loved his grandmother and he just realized his dream and he come up on stage being real. That's whats up. I don't like guys being all cliché and saying "what they're supposed to" I like being real, and that was most definitely real. All he wants to do is win

[Defjamz26]

Lol at all the people throwing hissy fits because the Colts passed on Foster. As expected, people really thought because of Ballards history with Peters and Hill in KC that the Colts were just going to draft a team full of knuckleheads. Get over yourselves.

[Yoshinator]

Love the pick. I was wondering if we would trade down, but glad we didn't now. When Goodell said Malik, instinctively, the first name I thought of was Malik McDowell, and was going to throw a fit, but he said Hooker, and I got very excited. Definitely BPA, and great pick!

[Buck Showalter]

How do I feel??? Like I can finally burn that Zbikowski jersey in the back if my closet!!!!

[a06cc]

10 minutes ago, Shadow_Creek said:

The way you wrote this comment was epic  

I hope he earn every single dollar too lol

[Coltsfan0112]

2 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

I already have images in my head of Hooker whiffing on Fournette. 

Fournette is going the need an O-line. He's good but needs holes to be great

[Defjamz26]

7 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

We re-signed Butler because we needed him and there was no way to know that a player of Hooker's quality would fall all the way to 15.

 

 

I was at work watching the draft. Explain to me what happened in this topic lol? I come on expecting to see everyone going nuts and dubbing Ballard the new messiah of drafting and instead people are complaining. How is this even possible?

[colts2dasuperbowl]

Just now, COLTS449 said:

 

Its what I call passionate. We need a team full of kids like him.

idk...not that kind of passion. that kind of passion off the field leads to some dumb incidents. and on the field, he will probably take off his helmet or do something dumb that leads to automatic penalty.

[Buck Showalter]

3 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

I cannot wait for Hooker to pick off Watson for the first time, I'm going to enjoy that.

Post of the day!

[drums1st]

I wonder if they'll try & move T.J. Green to corner? He has 4.35 speed. Can he learn to cover? 

 

Corner is a more generally thought to be a more important position than safety. 

So I was thinking go CB in round 1. But I guess the thinking is Hooker is the more higher rated player. 

Ok, but in the middle of round two the top at least 8 CB's will be off the board. 

So whoever you get is going to be far from the best CB's from this draft. 

 

Hope this all works.

 

Peace 

[a06cc]

I wonder what's going to happen to us as an organization for picking up a Hooker?

[IinD]

5 minutes ago, James said:

 

Yup. Truly shows how little knowledge some people have.

Not knocking anyone, but I so so wish there were minimum requirements to be allowed internet access..lol.

 

If he's legit I'm good.

[BleedBlu8792]

To everyone complaining about his experience. being too raw, or his lack of tackling (which is overblown)....

 

He was a 1st team ALL AMERICAN safety in his only year of starting. 

 

 

[Colts_Fan12]

9 minutes ago, zibby43 said:

 

He is from a Power 5 school but so is TJ Green, and he is on line 1 for you to discuss college safeties with limited tape.

Did green have 7 INTs? Was green fantastic in coverage like Hooker? Was green talked about as a 1st rounder let alone top 10 player? No they are not even comparable 

[Colts1324]

6 minutes ago, James said:

 

Yup. Truly shows how little knowledge some people have.

Exactly. People want BPA. We get a top 5-8 talent fall to us, and they complain. Feuded and Kiper both aren't very good at judging defensive talent. 

Give Hooker a year and he is a top 5 FS. He has potential to be our bob sanders. Not as a hard hitter, but as a playmaker who can cover half the field. 

[COLTS449]

Just now, colts2dasuperbowl said:

idk...not that kind of passion. that kind of passion off the field leads to some dumb incidents. and on the field, he will probably take off his helmet or do something dumb that leads to automatic penalty.

 

I just like the tough, alpha males who'll take your head off then taunt you. LOL.

[NorthernBlue]

 are you guys kidding me? Guys are you serious? Like actually? Are you guys for real?

 

The Colts just got a blue chip prospect. A top 10 talent, and the a guy with all pro potential that - wait for it - plays DEFENSE.

 

And ya'll are mad?  Get outta here. 

[COLTS449]

Just now, a06cc said:

I wonder what's going to happen to us as an organization for picking up a Hooker?

 

Well it was a high class top tier hooker so......A good time?  

[Smoke317]

3 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

I cannot wait for Hooker to pick off Watson for the first time, I'm going to enjoy that.

He got him in the National semifinal game on a play that made my jaw hit the floor. His range and anticipation are insane. I remember that play really stood out to me. I thought this kid is a playmaker...  And now he's a Colt. Great first day of the draft for us as far as I'm concerned. 

[colts2dasuperbowl]

1 minute ago, COLTS449 said:

 

I just like the tough, alpha males who'll take your head off then taunt you. LOL.

i'm all for that as well like ray lewis type alpha male. this guy needs to control his emotions, tho.

 

[AustexColt]

Malik is supposedly the next Ed Reed. All I want to see is how many interceptions will he have when we scrimmage the Lions. As a FS, the Lions will be throwing rainbows on our secondary. He will have lots of practice with Andrew Luck so that will also be a great gauge to check on his range.

[Coltsfanforlife12]

I'm reading through the comments and the concerns about injuries are just dumb... he had a hernia and a torn labrum.  Labrums aren't serious recurring injuries if treated properly. 

[Shive]

38 minutes ago, krunk said:

The only people hating on this pick are the needs based draft thinkers.

I'm about to just stay in the Draft sub-forum where the guys actually know about these players.

 

"Well ESPN said he's no good...." 

 

"Have you watched any of his tape?"

 

"No, but ESPN..."

 

 

38 minutes ago, COLTS449 said:

the rest of the world are starting to see I'm right about him being innocent.

Please don't act like you had some sort of inside info about Conley. You were blindly hopeful and it's not a done deal yet.

 

6 minutes ago, Johnny U. said:

You must be the same guy who tried to defend Heremans a couple of years ago.

Should have taken an edge player? No edge players BPA (would have been a reach at 15)

Should have taken Peppers over Hooker? Hooker was WIDELY considered the best ballhawk safety in this draft, while Peppers is a great athlete and a solid safety/linebacker (plus failed the combine drug test with a  diluted sample)

 

It's obvious you haven't watched any tape on these guy and are just listening to the talking heads. Just stop.

[tweezy32]

The colts picked the best player available. Why would you not pick hooker when clearly is was the BPA? He's a FS, not a linebacker. Shpuldnt be that worried about his tackling anyways. As long as our slime and linebackers do their jobs. He won't have to come up and tackle

[MarvinTheGreat88]

30 minutes ago, Johnny U. said:

Peppers more versatile and he can tackle. Couldn't believe they passed on Allen or Foster.

 

We were very fortunate to have selected from Hooker, Allen or Foster. But those other two guys have more concerning injury red-flags, and Foster has off-the-field character issues to boot. Hooker is not only safer than those two, but also has a higher ceiling. I was fine with us taking either of the 3, but wanted Hooker most. Best draft pick we've made in years!

[atapcl]

The kid had 7 ints playing with a hernia and hip injury. Not many people would want to tackle with those problems. I'm looking forward to watching a healthy Malik Hooker play.

[BOTT]

1 minute ago, AustexColt said:

Malik is supposedly the next Ed Reed. All I want to see is how many interceptions will he have when we scrimmage the Lions. As a FS, the Lions will be throwing rainbows on our secondary. He will have lots of practice with Andrew Luck so that will also be a great gauge to check on his range.

Lions dinked a dunked the colts this past year.  I think the average pass was less the 5 yards in the air.

[Coltsfanforlife12]

4 minutes ago, NorthernBlue said:

 are you guys kidding me? Guys are you serious? Like actually? Are you guys for real?

 

The Colts just got a blue chip prospect. A top 10 talent, and the a guy with all pro potential that - wait for it - plays DEFENSE.

 

And ya'll are mad?  Get outta here. 

 this!  If you guys lose by to Venturi he talks about ambien players all the time, those players that keep coaches and quarterbacks up at night.  He is exactly that and let's all be honest, the quarterbacks in our division are subpar with the exception of maybe mariota.  I won't be sold on him until he plays a full season. 

[aReggie7]

Before the draft I was hoping the Colts would take someone like Ryan Kelly. By that I do not mean a needs pick (I did not care too much what position the Colts took) but someone you are comfident can step in and contribute. I do find Hooker's inexperience concerning but it might be an overblown concern.

 

With that said there is no denying Hooker's talent. Hopefully the coaching staff uses him correctly.

[NorthernBlue]

And regarding the whole "he can't tackle" business, well we got Clayton don't we? And Hooker is a ball hawk. He's got traits you can't teach (easily). But you can teach tackling. 

 

This pick gives the Colts some flexibility with our defensive backs. Now, we can play Geathers closer to the line, and have him make a bigger impact in the run game. Butler can still play safety, but he can also move back into the nickel role in a pinch. Meanwhile Hooker can roam free around the middle of the field, swatting any ball that comes his way. The Colts were one of the worst teams in terms of turnover differential last year. That will change.

 

The defense just got better. 

[Mr_486lo]

With all the players we signed in free agency, they are all unknown really. They have the potential to be good maybe great, but to pass on players like Allen and Foster confuses me. I like Hooker but he was not the BPA. Just because he was ranked top 5 doesn't mean he was gonna go top 5. If you look at his tape and compare it to Allen's or Foster's, it wouldn't even compare. We need monsters. Players that can get after the qb. And we took a safety? The damn 49ers killed the draft from the beginning to the end of the draft. I'm in no way bashing the pick. Hooker is a good player, but if BPA was the mindset or creating a monster was still the goal...we failed.

My skin thick enough. Bring it

[Colts_Fan12]

Who are all these "better" players available you are all talking about? There was NO ONE better available sorry to break it to you.

[myic90]

13 minutes ago, SaturdayAllDay said:

Well with him being a deep centerfield FS, we can run the "3 safety" package that we have been running much more effectively. We can drop Hooker into deep coverage, bring Geathers down to ILB and have him cover TEs/RBs from there, and then either drop Butler back as well or set him up in coverage on an inside WR vs certain sets. Could also sub in Green to do blitzes at times. Lots of possibilities to expand upon. Basically Hooker should be set up to do what Adams did for us last year, but better. 

 

I can see this erasing what Pitt do to us having AB attack the deep seams. This pick does seem to help us against the AFC powerhouses like the pats, pitt etc. I still have concerns with us playing more of the 3 safety sets against our own division all of whom primarily are ground and pound. The jags weren't but clearly with the Fournette pick that's what the planned identity will be. Ideally Hooker would be redshirted but the disparity in talent levels between what he brings to what we have might force him into the line up early and I fear the tackling problems will be accentuated much earlier that I'd like. Not to mention he's not going to be available till training camp so he'll miss out on important reps.

 

Despite all this, I'm stoked with the pick. Any safety who's compared to Earl thomas and ed reed is OK by my books.