Ozzie Newsome was impressed by Jordan Stout at the Senior Bowl
The Ravens invested heavily in punter Jordan Stout by issuing a fourth-round pick. It is the highest pick used for a player since 2012.
However, it’s clear how special the Ravens think Stout is and will be for years to come. Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome told Hortiz at the Senior Bowl that Stout might be the best player on the field.
“Every kicker is different, [and] Everyone’s technique is different, but what you’re looking for is that explosiveness in their body and on contact, and he has that when he’s potting the ball – you can hear it and feel it and see it,” Hortiz said.
“We were at the Senior Bowl and I was sitting there with Ozzie one day before practice and he said, ‘He could be the best player on the field.’ He just hits balls and it just jumps off his foot and you saw it on kickoffs and you saw it on that long field goal I showed you — 57 yards.
Hortiz said Stout’s versatility, including handling kickoffs, is key with the Ravens. They could take some kickoffs off Justin Tucker to hopefully help prolong the 32-year-old kicker’s career.
“It’s like pitching — you throw 90 pitches, well, if you’ve got someone throwing 70 and someone throwing the other 20, you can save your arm a little bit,” Hortiz said. “Well, it’s easy on the legs – it really is. And just having that versatility to potentially give Justin some kickoffs is a great thing.”
For those worried about Stout taking over Sam Koch as Ravens owner, everything Stout did on his Penn State Pro Day was a hold. He didn’t hit a single punt because he wanted to show teams he was good at holding.