[1][2] Hooper was listed as a defensive end by Rivals and also by ESPN who had him rated as a four-star recruit and the #261 player overall in the nation regardless of position.

[12] On March 17, 2016, Hooper opted to participate at Stanford's Pro Day and chose to only perform positional drills for scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams, that also included San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly and Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave.

[13][14] Throughout the pre-draft process, Hooper attended private workouts and visits with the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, and Tennessee Titans.

[25] Throughout his first training camp, Hooper competed with Levine Toilolo and Jacob Tamme for job as the starting tight end.

[26] Head coach Dan Quinn named him the third tight end on the Falcons' depth chart behind Tamme and Toilolo.

[29] During a Week 8 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, Hooper earned his first NFL start and had a season-high five receptions for 41 yards in a narrow 33–32 victory.

[30] Starting tight end Jacob Tamme suffered a shoulder injury during the game and was placed on injured/reserve for the remainder of the season on November 21, 2016.

[31] The following week, he made three receptions for 46 yards and scored on a two-yard pass from Matt Ryan as the Falcons routed the Buccaneers 43–28.

[32] In Week 15, Hooper caught a nine-yard pass during a 41–13 victory over the 49ers, but left after suffering a grade-2 knee sprain that caused him to miss the remaining two games of the regular season.

On January 14, 2017, Hooper appeared in his first playoff game and caught a ten-yard pass as the Falcons defeated the Seattle Seahawks 36–20 in the NFC Wild Card Round.

[36] After the Falcons defeated the Packers in the NFC Championship, they went on to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

[38] Hooper entered training camp slated as the starting tight end after the retirement of Jacob Tamme.

He was named the starting tight end to begin the regular season under new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

[49] On January 15, 2019, Hooper was named to his first Pro Bowl as a replacement for Eagles tight end Zach Ertz.