Tag: Joe Hortiz

Ravens’ Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz reportedly a candidate for Giants GM job

Ravens Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz is reportedly a candidate for the Giants’ general manager job

The Baltimore Ravens have seen many talented coaches and executives be interviewed and subsequently leave for bigger roles with other franchises. It speaks to the organization’s ability to not only develop player talent, but also coaches and executives as well.

On Tuesday, it was reported by Pat Leonard of NYDN Sports that the New York Giants were adding a 9th general manager candidate to their list in Baltimore Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz after seeing their former general manager retire in Dave Gettleman, ending a four-year run with the franchise.

Hortiz joined the Ravens in 1998 and has worked his way up through the organization to his current position. He has played a key part in what Baltimore has built over the years, and while his loss would be a big one for the Ravens, he would be a home run hire for the Giants if that’s the direction that they end up going.

GM candidates the Giants could consider if they fire Dave Gettleman

With the New York Giants likely to part ways with general manager Dave Gettleman, here are several potential options to replace him.

The New York Giants are likely to move on from general manager Dave Gettleman following the season. Whether he’s fired or retires remains to be seen but either way, Big Blue will be thrust into another GM search.

If the Giants are firm in their commitment to head coach Joe Judge, that may thin out their pool of options. It may also strengthen the likelihood of landing a new GM that has previous ties to Judge.

Is that good or bad? We’ll let you decide.

With a GM swap all but a certainty, here’s a look at several potential options who could replace Gettleman in 2022 and beyond.

Joe Hortiz lauds Odafe Oweh’s ability to get to the quarterback

The Baltimore Ravens selected Odafe Oweh with the 31st pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Joe Hortiz talked about what Oweh brings to the team

The Baltimore Ravens selected edge rusher Odafe Oweh with the 31st overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Baltimore reportedly had similar grades on both Oweh and fellow edge defender Gregory Rousseau, but ended up with the former Penn State Nittany Lion, who arguably fits the Ravens’ defensive scheme a bit more than Rousseau would have.

When breaking down film on Baltimore’s 2021 draft class, Ravens’ Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz went into detail about what he liked about Oweh’s game, including the fact that he has skills and moves that are transferable to the NFL level.

Hortiz went into detail about the “raw” aspects of Oweh’s game and how the team will try to help him grow and develop.

“I would say, the rawness comes from … And I don’t know if I’d call him raw, overall, because he does use his hands. The rawness is like the raw potential – just when this guy learns a secondary move off his speed rush. [He uses] a lot of double swipes, punch, rip. When he learns the counters off of that … He’s raw from a reading blockers’ hands [standpoint] – the small aspects of the game.”

Oweh hasn’t been playing football for a very long time, so he has quite a bit of room to get better. However, he already has some traits that will help him be productive as he learns the rest of the NFL game, and it seems like the entire organization is enamored with what Oweh could become under the tutelage of their coaching staff.

Joe Hortiz raves about Rashod Bateman’s route running and awareness

The Baltimore Ravens drafted Rashod Bateman with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2021 draft. Joe Horitz raved about Bateman’s route running

The Baltimore Ravens selected wide receiver Rashod Bateman with the 27th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. The team seems extremely excited about their new pass catcher, and Bateman should see plenty of opportunities early and often in Baltimore.

Ravens Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz broke down Baltimore’s draft class on Monday, and had some nice things to say about the former University of Minnesota product, raving about his route running and his suddenness.

Hortiz also talked about how Bateman is able to identify safety looks, and uses his awareness to put himself in good positions.

“I think one of the things that really stood out about Rashod [Bateman] is his safety awareness. That’s really critical, I think, for receivers to find success early is just overall awareness of the defense and what the defense is doing to him pre-snap, during the play, post-snap when everything is moving, when bodies are moving – to be able to process that, and I think he can do that pretty well with his instincts and his feel. That’s more advanced, certainly.”

Bateman’s skill set is something that the Ravens have missed in recent years, so he will be welcomed into Baltimore’s offense with open arms. Hortiz is excited about the team’s first pick of the 2021 draft, and rightfully so. With the right coaching and mentorship, he has the potential to develop into a phenominal player at the NFL level and become a true No. 1 wide receiver for the Ravens.

5 takeaways from the Jags acquiring the No. 1 overall pick

The Jags acquired the top pick of the 2021 NFL Draft Sunday and they could benefit from it in a lot of ways.

The Jacksonville Jaguars did it!

No, they didn’t clinch a postseason berth, but they did manage to acquire the first overall pick, which could be huge in turning their luck around. With a week remaining before the regular season concludes, the Jags lost their 14th consecutive game of the 2020 season to the Chicago Bears. Later, the New York Jets solidified the Jags’ place in the draft order by defeating the Cleveland Browns.

While one game remains, the chain of events that occurred Sunday made what was already going to be an interesting offseason that much more interesting. That said, here are some takeaways from the Jags’ acquisition of the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft:

5 candidates for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ general manager vacancy

The Jags now have a general manager vacancy to fill after firing Dave Caldwell and there are several intriguing candidates to chose from.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced the firing of Dave Caldwell Sunday after a Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns that knocked the team out of playoff contention. While the Jags filled the role temporarily by naming executive Trent Baalke the interim general manager, the team should eventually be on the market looking for solutions outside of their current group.

Here are five candidates we believe are good fits to potentially pull the Jags out of their losing ways:

Candidates for the Detroit Lions general manager vacancy

Candidates for the Detroit Lions general manager vacancy.

The Detroit Lions fired general manager Bob Quinn on Saturday and one of the top priorities of the organization will be to find his replacement.

The Lions are in a unique situation, where Shelia Ford Hamp is still in her first year as principal owner, Rod Wood (the team president) mostly handles the business side of the operation, and they need to replace a GM and coach, where the trending names are mostly individuals who would also be new to their positions.

That’s why when Lions Wire editors Jeff Risdon and Erik Schlitt put together a Top-10 coaching list they included both first-year and veteran options. This same approach should be applied to the GM position and this list of available candidates will include both individuals who have experience and those who are considered rising stars in  NFL circles.

Ravens aren’t concerned with Patrick Queen’s inexperience

The Baltimore Ravens are able to look beyond Patrick Queen’s perceived inexperience at LSU to see a star in the making.

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A lack of starting experience was the biggest knock on LSU linebacker Patrick Queen coming into the 2020 NFL Draft. Despite all his physical talents and steady improvement in 2019, he slid to Baltimore as the 28th overall pick and the fourth linebacker off the board.

Queen hadn’t gotten as much playing time in his first two years at LSU, sitting behind Devin White, the fifth-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, on the depth chart. In fact, he didn’t even start every game in 2019, earning the starting job early in the season and starting 11 of 15 games last year. Yet while other teams might have viewed Queen’s inexperience as a negative, Baltimore instead saw upside.

In a film session with media, Ravens director of college scouting Joe Hortiz dissected about a dozen of Queen’s plays from 2019. The linebacker showed steady improvement in his technique and football intelligence to match his natural instincts and speed.

When reviewing Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay, Hortiz brought up a play against LSU from the second game of the season. Hortiz pointed out that Queen wasn’t deep enough in coverage, which allowed Duvernay to catch a touchdown right behind him. But just a few weeks later, in clips from Week 6 against Florida and Week 9 against Alabama, it was clear Queen had learned from the error, making positive plays in coverage.

On a goal-line play against Florida, Queen quickly noticed blown coverage that left tight end Kyle Pitts wide open. While Queen’s responsibility was on running back Lamical Perine, who was running a similar route, he adjuted to cover over the top, making a play on the ball while it was in the air. Though the play still resulted in a touchdown, Hortiz specifically praised Queen’s instincts to notice the error quickly and his physical ability to not only cover two guys at the same time but still make a play for the ball.

Hortiz brought up a passing play against Alabama that that featured a wide receiver running a short crossing route while another wide receiver ran a deeper post. Where Queen hadn’t dropped back enough just a few weeks prior, this time he read the routes correctly and anticipated where the ball was going to go. Instead of taking the bait of the short crossing route, Queen drifted further back in coverage and picked off Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s throw to the deep post. Hortiz specifically called out the difference in depth and urgency between the two plays, noting how quickly Queen had improved on what could have been a similar mistake.

It’s that dramatic, rapid improvement that has Baltimore so excited about the possibilities with Queen.

“What was impressive about it was as I took you through [the film] – I kind of took you through it in order – you saw him get even faster, and faster and faster,” Hortiz said, when asked about Queen’s dramatic improvement last season. “He was fast at the beginning, but then you saw his reads get even more precise. His reaction was quicker.”

Hortiz admitted, as has general manager Eric DeCosta previously, that any draft selection is a gamble. As a first-round pick, Queen is the biggest gamble of them all for Baltimore. That early draft status means Queen will either become a solid starter, or he’ll be labeled a bust — a rarity for the Ravens. While the physical tools are certainly there for Queen, giving him a high floor, according to Hortiz, the speed at which he improved last season points to a much higher ceiling.

“I think with Patrick [Queen], you knew you were getting a great kid, and then when you watched the film, you saw the instincts and the speed and athleticism. You were like, ‘Wow, he’s a 20-year-old kid who’s showing this right now. What would he have been next year if he would have been another year starter with 12 more, 14 more starts under his belt? How much more instinctive would he be?’

“With a guy like Patrick, you’re just projecting that he’s going to be even better,” Hortiz continued. “Like, next year he’d be a top-10 pick or a top-15 pick versus a top-28 pick.”

Though Hortiz was quick to point out that Queen isn’t raw — as is often the case with many picks that are physically gifted but aren’t necessarily polished in terms of technique and football IQ — allowing the rookie time to build confidence and learn the intricacies of the game at the NFL level will only help him. And luckily for the Ravens, they don’t necessarily have to throw Queen directly into the fire.

Baltimore has done a good job of bolstering the depth chart around Queen with the additions of L.J. Fort and Jake Ryan. Instead of needing Queen to become a three-down linebacker immediately, Baltimore can rotate him into the lineup and play to his strengths as he steadily improves his overall game. It’s a strategy the Ravens have used successfully recently with cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who was given backup roles for two years before exploding onto the scene in 2019 and earning an All-Pro nod.

That’s not to say Queen will follow in Humphrey’s footsteps. But Baltimore was patient in the 2020 draft, allowing Queen to fall into their laps. The Ravens clearly see something special in the young linebacker, and with a little more patience, they could have a real star on their hands.

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