Tag: Dennis Hickey

Brandon Brown credits Giants’ player personnel directors for Jordon Riley discovery

New York Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown says Dennis Hickey and Tim McDonnell were the ones who discovered NT Jordon Riley.

Sometimes you stumble on a guy late in the draft that just comes right in and plays lights out without missing a beat.

Such could be said about defensive lineman Jordan Riley, a well-traveled 25-year-old rookie the New York Giants selected with the 243rd overall selection in this year’s NFL draft.

Riley has played extensively in the preseason and he has played well. Noted for his strong play against the run, Riley has also shown that he can get into the backfield, push the pocket and get to the quarterback.

Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown didn’t take the credit for unearthing the gem that is Riley at his media session on Monday, but told the story behind how the 6-foot-5, 325-pounder out of Oregon became a Giant.

“I can’t mention Jordon Riley without mentioning Dennis Hickey and Tim McDonnell (the Giants’ directors of player personnel). They were driving forces in terms of the process of Jordon,” Brown said.

“I remember going back to my notes; Jordon’s not on anybody’s radar. It’s October, Dennis Hickey goes out to Oregon and sees him and is like, ‘B, listen, I’m just telling you this guy has traits that we want to play with knockback, we want to be big up front, want to control the line of scrimmage, he fits our brand of ball.’ Tim tells me, ‘B, we need to go see him play.’ So, Tim and I went and saw him play against Cal. Tim’s been the ultimate checks and balances for me, someone that I have blind trust in where he says, ‘We need to go watch this guy, and we come apart from it, you can walk out to warmups, and he sticks out like a sore thumb.'”

Riley’s teammate, linebacker Azeez Ojulari — a third-year player who is actually two years younger than Riley — had this to say on Monday.

“He’s coming in head down working every day, focused, locked in. You’ve got big Dex (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II), (defensive lineman) Leo(nard Williams) in there grinding, helping him out, Nacho (defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches), (defensive lineman) A’Shawn (Robinson), they’re all working on him. He’s pushing them every day and he’s just improving every day, going hard and getting better.”

The Giants, after years of Day 3 failures at the draft, are finally getting some hits.

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Giants’ Dennis Hickey outlines ‘clear vision’ for 2023 NFL draft

New York Giants assistant director of player personnel, Dennis Hickey, says the team has a “clear vision” ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.

The New York Giants face a crucial offseason this spring as second-year general manager Joe Schoen continues the difficult task of building a winner.

Schoen is off to a great start, leading the Giants to a playoff berth along with head coach Brian Daboll in their first season on the job.

What can we expect in Year 2? Giants assistant director of player personnel Dennis Hickey spoke about the team’s directives during a recent appearance on the Giants Huddle Podcast.

“We see ourselves as a collective,” Hickey said. “There’s a lot of different experiences — (scouts) coming from different teams in different roles, all those things. We just want to put all our heads together. Joe and Dabs are very inclusive. They believe in diversity of thought. So, we’re getting all the educated opinions together. And we’re working through and trying to get it right for the New York Giants when it comes draft day.”

Hickey said the Giants have a vision and know what they are looking for in players.

“We have a clear vision of what we’re looking for,” says Hickey. “It’s a big competitive edge for us because we know what we’re looking for. There’s consistency. That’s some of the things we do in training camp. Coaches come in, and they just lay out: ‘These are the kind of guys we’re looking for and what fits us.'”

Hickey said another aspect that adds to the synergy of the organization is how well Schoen and Daboll work together.

“It’s fun to watch his relationship with Coach Daboll and just the alignment we have at the top. That’s great for the whole organization. I think you see that in the results,” Hickey said.

But it’s the players they choose that will ultimately determine the direction of the team. Hickey said the team has a good idea how players might pan out.

“It’s the character and the makeup that determines whether they can reach their ceiling or not and maximize what they have physical skillset-wise. That’s why we research, talk to a lot of sources, spend a lot of time investing and find out what makes these players tick and what motivates them,” he said.

The Giants hold the 25th overall selection in the first round of this year’s NFL draft.

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Giants’ Joe Schoen scouted Rutgers-Iowa on Saturday

The New York Giants had scouts and executives at several college games on Saturday, including Joe Schoen at Rutgers-Iowa.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen continued his weekend scouting trips on Saturday, this time staying close to home in order to take in Rutgers-Iowa.

In addition to Schoen, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell and assistant director of player personnel Dennis Hickey were also in attendance for the game. As was safety Dane Belton, although he was merely a spectator (obviously).

Meanwhile, elsewhere across the country, the Giants also had scouts at Tennessee-Florida and Syracuse-Virginia.

The Giants have a lot of work to do next offseason and during the 2023 NFL draft, so they will continue to spread out across the U.S. this year.

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Giants will go without a director of college scouting in 2022

Despite conducting interviews, the New York Giants have opted to go without a director of college scouting in 2022.

In the NFL, the director of college scouting plays a vital role for each team. The position is responsible for organizing the team’s draft board by combining knowledge of players at all levels of college football and giving each payer a grade.

The New York Giants let Chris Pettit go during their front office overhaul. Pettit previously held the director of college scouting position with the team. Rather than fill the position with a new hire, the Giants have opted to go without this position.

In the interim, Dennis Hickey will assume some of the responsibility.

Hickey previously worked with Schoen in Miami and Buffalo, and he’s been around the NFL for nearly 30 years. Schoen brought Hickey to New York in May as the director of player personnel.

Although interviews were conducted for the position, the Giants have ultimately opted not to replace Pettit. For now.

With Hickey’s previous experience in scouting and player personnel with other teams, it’s a logical move to have him handle the responsibilities of scouting college players. Schoen’s relationship with Hickey ensures that Hickey knows the type(s) of players to look for who will fit with Schoen’s scheme.

Consistency is everything in team sports, and the NFL is no different. When you have consistency, the entire organization functions better and runs smoothly.

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Giants officially hire Chris Rossetti, three others

The New York Giants have hired Chris Rossetti as their director of pro scouting and confirmed the hire of three others.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen continued to overhaul the team’s football operations on Thursday with the announcement of four hires in the scouting department.

In the door are: Chris Rossetti (director of pro scouting), Dennis Hickey (assistant director of player personnel), Mike Derice (national scout) and Scott Hamel (area scout – Southwest).

Rossetti, a native of Ontario, Canada, worked with Schoen in the Miami Dolphins organization in 2015-16. He most recently served as the Dolphins’ assistant director of pro scouting where he ‘evaluated players throughout the NFL as it pertained to free agency, preseason, team advances, trades, practice squads and the waiver wire’ as per the Giants’ official release.

Hickey was most recently the senior national scout for the Buffalo Bills under Schoen and the two worked together before that in Miami.

Derice is a Brooklyn native who began his football career at Stony Brook and has spent the last ten seasons as an area scout for the Indianapolis Colts.

Hamel played high school ball at Rye High School and then was a walk-on running back at Michigan. He most recently worked for the Chicago Bears, where from 2015-21 where he was a combine scout and then became an area scout in the Midwest (2017-20) and Southeast (2021).

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Giants are hiring former Dolphins GM for front office role

Another former Dolphin finds a new home.

The NFL constantly has coaches and front office personnel moving from one organization to another, so it’s not uncommon to have multiple former members of the Miami Dolphins with other teams.

On Monday, Neil Stratton reported that the New York Giants would be hiring former Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey. The New York Post later added that he would be New York’s assistant director of player personnel.

Hickey was with the Dolphins for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. While Mike Tannenbaum was above him during his tenure, Miami went 14-18, and he was part of the decision-making group that was responsible for the selections of Ja’Waun James, Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Jordan Phillips, Bobby McCain and others.

Now, Hickey will work alongside new Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll to try to turn New York into a winning franchise once again.

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Giants to hire ex-Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey

The New York Giants are hiring former Miami Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey as their assistant director of player personnel.

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The New York Giants and general manager Joe Schoen continued their front office and scouting department reshuffling this week. First came the hire of area scout Scott Hamel and then came an even more notable addition.

On Monday, Neil Stratton reported that former Miami Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey would be Schoen’s next hire.

Although Hickey’s role was initially undefined, the New York Post later reported that he will serve as the assistant director of player personnel. He will work directly under Tim McDonnell, the team’s director of player personnel.

Joe Schoen and Dennis Hickey are taking their eight-year game of musical chairs from Miami to Buffalo to East Rutherford.

The Giants are hiring Hickey as assistant director of player personnel, according to a source. It’s the latest move in what will be weeks of remaking the personnel department to the liking of Schoen, the first-year general manager.

Hickey, who relies heavily on analytics, has served as an NFL executive dating back to 2004 when he was promoted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He worked in several roles during his time in Tampa, including director of college scouting and director of player personnel.

After 10 years with the Buccaneers, Hickey was hired as general manager of the Miami Dolphins in 2014. He lasted just two seasons in that role before joining the Buffalo Bills as a senior college scout in 2017.

Hickey also has experience as a pro personnel assistant and college scout — roles he held prior to the aforementioned Bucs promotion.

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