Summary

Amani Hooker was selected in the 4th Round (#116 Overall) in the 2019 Draft out of University of Iowa. Hooker is a versatile, instincts-driven safety whose strengths lie in positional flexibility, ball skills, and solid tackling ability for his size. His ability to impact the game via turnovers and support the run game gives him strong value. His primary constraints are related to size/length for some matchups, deep coverage recovery in single-high roles, and ensuring consistency in tackling and engagement in denser run/front situations. With continued development and high availability, he is a valuable defensive piece with a high floor and a growing ceiling.

Strengths

• Versatility & hybrid role capability: Hooker has experience playing multiple roles—not just traditional free/strong safety, but also box safety and in hybrid “star” or “box plus” alignments. His college play and NFL usage reflect comfort in different spots. Bleacher Report

• Ball-hawking instincts and turnover ability: He has shown good ability to anticipate routes, make plays on the ball, and generate interceptions with a career-high five interceptions in 2024. Tennessee Titans

• Tackling & run support willingness: Though not the tallest safety, he plays with physicality, shows good tackling in the box, and is willing to step up in run-react scenarios. Scouting reports from his draft year highlighted his box-support traits. Bleacher Report

• Athleticism & movement skills for his size: At his size, Hooker shows good agility, decent speed, and the ability to change directions—which allows him to cover ground, drop into zones effectively, and pursue in space. MockDraftable

Weaknesses

• Size/length relative to some matchups: At 5′11″, his height is slightly below what some teams prefer for safeties, especially when dealing with tall receivers, big tight ends, or deep safety matchups. Bleacher Report

• Deep‐zone range & single-high responsibility concerns: While strong in many zones and in support roles, earlier scouting noted that he may have less comfort when asked to play strictly deep or as the single-high safety—turning and recovery in deep space were flagged. Bleacher Report

• Missed tackles / physical engagement refinement: Hooker sometimes preferred to run through the ball rather than wrap up, and against physical blockers or in heavy run-support might lose leverage or feel less dominant than a larger safety. Bleacher Report

• Durability & availability: While not a major red-flag, he has had some missed games due to injury and any safety that plays box roles must maintain high availability. Staying healthy will continue to be important for his value and role.

Fit & Outlook

Hooker fits best in a defense that uses safeties in a variety of roles—someone who can play in the box, help in run support, drop into intermediate zones, and occasionally handle deep coverage or sub-package duty. A scheme that doesn’t force him to cover every snap deep single‐high without help will maximize his strengths. If Hooker continues building his craft (especially in coverage depth and tackling consistency), his ceiling is as a high-end starter safety—someone with turnover upside, strong in support, and valued for versatility. His floor is already a very good NFL starter at safety.