The Detroit Lions ended their experiment with quarterback Hendon Hooker before the start of the 2025 NFL regular season. The Lions obviously still have starter Jared Goff behind center, but Hooker was a long-term project with upside potential. Pro Football Sports Network’s Ian Cummings predicted Saturday that the Lions could find a new quarterback fitting that description in Texas Tech’s Behren Morton.
In his newest 2026 NFL mock draft released Saturday morning, Cummings projected the Lions to select Morton at No. 180 overall in the sixth round.
The Athletic’s Dan Brugler included Morton on his list of prospects who “caught his attention” during Week 3 of the college season.
After reading Brugler’s praise of the Texas Tech signal-caller, The Sporting News’ Anthony Licciardi studied the quarterback. Licciardo had a lot of positive takeaways from his study.
“Morton has a live arm and good enough accuracy across the board to start,” Licciardi wrote. “He’s a strong athlete, too, and uses it to make plays out of structure and add to the Texas Tech ground game.
“Despite the flashes, Morton has questionable pocket habits, and his decisions deteriorate under pressure. Ultimately, he looks like an early Day 3 prospect with room to grow as conference play gets underway.”
Why the Lions Could Target QB Behren Morton
After Hooker didn’t make the Lions roster after the preseason, he signed with the Carolina Panthers practice squad. The Lions kept Kyle Allen as their backup quarterback instead.
For the No. 3 quarterback duties, Detroit added veteran C.J. Beathard to the practice squad.
The Lions are in win-now mode. So, it doesn’t make much sense for them to spend a high draft pick on a quarterback — developmental or otherwise. But using a late Day 3 selection to add a signal-caller would make sense for the Lions.
Such a move would give Dan Campbell and his coaching staff a new project behind center. That project wouldn’t have any pressure to contribute immediately. Instead, he could learn behind Goff and the other veteran quarterbacks on the team’s roster.
Behind his strong start to the 2025 campaign, Morton is becoming a potential Day 3 selection.
“A senior quarterback prospect who isn’t talked about enough, Morton has had as strong a start to the season as any passer in the country,” Bruglar wrote. “Through three games, he is completing 70.4 percent of his passes with an 11-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and ranks No. 2 in the FBS in completions of 20-plus yards (18).”
Morton Performing Well for Texas Tech
It’s obviously very early to be projecting 2026 NFL draft picks, especially ones in the final couple rounds.
The Lions could have a lot of different needs other than quarterback to address next spring. But that will all depend on various factors, such as how players perform the rest of 2025, injuries and free agency.
Allen is not signed beyond this season. The Lions could add a more expensive backup quarterback next offseason, which would lower the likelihood of the team pursuing a signal-caller in the draft.
That’s not necessarily likely. But it’s a possibility that makes predicting what Detroit could do at quarterback in the draft difficult.
It’s also possible Morton continues to perform well and rises on draft boards. That could put him out of draft range for the Lions.