Hendon Hooker to the Vikings is starting to get very real

The Minnesota Vikings continue to be connected to former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker by some of the most notable NFL Draft analysts.

For the last few weeks, former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has been the first-round selection of the Minnesota Vikings in a number of 2023 mock drafts from some of the top minds that cover the NFL Draft for a living.

NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah is the one who really got the ball rolling with the Hooker connection to the Vikings when he had the passing prospect landing with Minnesota in a mock draft he shared in March. Since then, Hooker to the Vikings in notable mock drafts has become more and more common.

Most recently, ESPN's Matt Miller shared his final seven-round 2023 mock draft on Sunday, and with the No. 23 pick in the first round, you guessed it, he has Minnesota selecting Hooker.

Will the Minnesota Vikings select QB Hendon Hooker in the 2023 NFL Draft?

Miller is now one of multiple prominent NFL Draft analysts to predict that Hooker will land with the Vikings at the end of the month. The group also includes Jeremiah, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso, Fox Sports' Greg Auman, and Hooker was also Minnesota's selection in the recent mock draft from the entire PFF staff.

To add to this speculation, ESPN Analytics recently released a mock draft simulator that also gives the percentage chance of prospects being selected at specific spots throughout the first handful of rounds. According to ESPN Analytics, Hooker's best chance to get drafted in the first round this year is with the No. 23 pick, which is currently owned by the Vikings.

The buzz about Hooker ending up in Minnesota is either very real or the Vikings have put together an extremely believable smokescreen that has fooled some of the best draft analysts in the industry.

Luckily, we don't have to wait much longer to find out as the 2023 NFL Draft will begin in less than a week with the first round set to kick off on Thursday at 7p.m. CST.