Chicago Bears: 2019 NFL Draft Prospect Big Board
By Ryan Heckman
9. Safety Amani Hooker, Iowa
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 210 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.48 seconds
Bench Press: 14 reps
Vertical Jump: 37 inches
3-Cone Drill: 6.81 seconds
Amani Hooker will not shock you with his athletic prowess. He is certainly fast enough, strong enough and good enough overall physically — just not in the upper echelon. But, what he does have a leg up on is his smarts. His instincts are out of this world. Even at the safety position, he knows the defense well enough to get his teammates into the right spots pre-snap and isn’t afraid to do so.
Hooker not only has a habit of making plays on the ball, but a strong desire to do so. Watching him play, you can tell he wants to be where the football is. Whether it’s in the air or on the ground. He sees the football and wants it with a burning desire.
He has great ball skills, but is also very good in run support. Hooker takes all the right angles to limit any gain on the ground, and he isn’t shy when it comes to to hitting hard enough to send a ball carrier backwards a ways. He plays as though he takes pride in stuffing the run, which is something you see a lot of in Chicago recently. They’re tough against the run, and Hooker would fit right in.