Chargers GM's hilarious draft evaluation of Adam Sandler, Tom Hanks and other actors in football films

An evaluator of college and NFL players for over 25 years, Los Angeles Chargers GM Joe Hortiz knows talent. Partnering with Jim Harbaugh to spearhead the Chargers turnaround, Hortiz is also clearly an intense football guy.

That's why it was a pleasant surprise to see Hortiz' genuinely funny breakdown of famous Hollywood actors' athletic performances in football films. The Charger team site produced the video, having their GM watch over a dozen clips from films such as Point Break, Forrest Gump and Top Gun: Maverick featuring actors from Tom Cruise to Tom Hanks to Channing Tatum.

joe's scouting reports are in pic.twitter.com/SvoEKNGPFo
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) April 23, 2025

From using terms like "COG" (Center Of Gravity) to grading change-of-direction and breaking down arm angles on throwing motions, Hortiz discussed the actors' authenticity and ability seemingly the same way he and Harbaugh evaluate free agents or potential draftees. While Hortiz made every effort to go easy on them, it wasn't always pretty.

"Always try to find the positives. Here I talked about some of the negatives and sometimes they're so bad that there's nothing you can say good about someone which was the case with some of these clips. But, other clips, you can find the positives and that's really the goal, find the positives of where these players can help us and, uh, might be a guy or two in there that could help us."

Jan 20, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Actor and comedian Adam Sandler looks on during the first half of the NBA game. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

When asked which character, out of all the film clips he watched, would he draft? Hortiz went with an unconventional football film hero.

"Hmmm....so, you go to competitors. Like Coach [Harbaugh] says "competitors welcome." There may be a few better athletes but...I'm picking Bobby Boucher. (Adam Sandler in The Waterboy). We can get him better in terms of understanding the game, but that type of relentlessness, passion, desire, physicality and, the other thing -- he's a team player. He cared about his teammates, he was giving them water. He did everything he could to get eligible for that [big] game -- remember he had to take the test and study -- that's the commitment you want. If I'm sitting there and he's available that's the guy I'm taking."

No doubt he's looking forward to hoisting the Lombardi trophy instead of an Oscar but based on this perfomance, Hortiz may have a career in Hollywood after his NFL days are done.

Chargers GM's hilarious draft evaluation of Adam Sandler, Tom Hanks and other actors in football films

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