Is Malik Hooker a problem?

[FatDT]

Next year at the very latest, Hooker and Wilson should be two cornerstones of our secondary. Hooker flashed as a rookie before his injury, but in year two it's Wilson who has finally strung together some good performances and seems to be growing into the role. We all saw the article so we know why that may be, we'll see if it sticks.

Then there's Hooker. He's healthy enough to play most of the season. But he's not evoking memories of Ed Reed or Earl Thomas yet. Or even Antoine Bethea. So far he's been slow, out of position, playing too deep, not making plays on the ball, and bad at tackling.

I'm not convinced that all of it is on him. I don't think this scheme knows how to feature a blue chip FS. The talent that he showed in college and in his rookie games didn't just disappear. It has taken some time to figure out how to best use Wilson (and I'm not even saying they're there yet), maybe it's also taking time for Hooker. I've said before I think maybe Eberflus could use some assistance with how to best scheme his secondary, as he seems like more of a front 7 guy.

Plus, he did have a season-ending injury. That may account for his perceived slowness.

I remember GBB saying in one of his weekly threads that this team would be in trouble without Hooker. GBB can you or others expand on that and say what Hooker is doing well this year? I am not trying to go after Hooker unnecessarily. I want him to succeed. If he and Wilson live up to their potential, we don't have to spend big draft capital on DBs and can use picks on the front 7. I just don't totally understand yet why he isn't making plays.