Chargers News: Joe Hortiz Alludes To How Front Office Is Approaching Fifth Pick In NFL Draft
During an extensive press conference with gathered media at this year's NFL combine, Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz unpacked how he intends to approach using the team's top pick in the upcoming NFL draft, per Eric Smith of Chargers.com. The Bolts currently possess the rights to the fifth selection.
"With the players, obviously, it goes by position, but I think, really, half of it is what they do on the field — the type of player they are — but a lot of it is the person, too, the other half," Hortiz said. "You have to know what you're getting, as a person. I think that his makeup, what type of teammate he is, how coachable he is, his desire to play the game, the toughness, those are the things that really matter to me and our organization.
Gathered media inquired if Hortiz could be amenable to adding a wide receiver, to equip Justin Herbert with more help.
"It's a passing game. In college, they spread it out more, receivers are getting so many more opportunities, so many more reps," Hortiz reflected. "That helps receivers develop faster, so when they get up to our level, they have a chance."
"They've seen a little bit more. We have more exposure to them," Hortiz said. "You look at the number of catches the receivers have now versus 15 years ago, it's impressive."
Hortiz also seemed to be excited about how the club could improve its offensive line through the draft.
"I'd say that it's pretty deep," Hortiz raved. "It's weird, I get this question a lot every year leading up to the draft. It seems like there's players that every round, certainly in the offensive line, there are some other deep positions in the draft.
"It seems to be a lot, most years, the same positions — wide receiver, every year we're starting to put out more and more wide receivers because of the way college football has changed," Hortiz noted. "But, yeah, it's a good depth draft for O-line."
In a conversation with Pro Football Talk, Hortiz seemed to suggest he would take an open-minded approach to the pick.
“You really don’t want to pigeonhole yourselves because we’re weak at this one position, so I gotta address this. I don’t think that’s the smart way to do it. You gotta have depth all around.”
