The first round of the NFL draft kicks off on Thursday night, with the smartest minds in football finally putting an offseason’s worth of research into the next crop of stars to good use.
Scouting talent is hard work, but that doesn’t mean teams can’t have a bit of fun with it. Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz did just that, breaking down the play and character attributes of several infamous fictional athletes to see where they would go in the draft.
Forrest Gump graded high by Hortiz’s measure.
“One of the most underrated athletes of all time,” he said of the character depicted by Tom Hanks in the 1995 Best Picture winner. “No one questions his speed. His awareness on the field? His focus? As we see here—not great. But you tell him what to do, and he does it, and he does it great.
“He listens. He’s coachable. That’s what you love. You can build off of that.”
Of Air Bud? “He runs low to the ground,” Hortiz said. “It’s like he’s got all four feet on the ground. Well he does. He’s a dog.”
Meanwhile, the athletes on HBO’s Euphoria need to work on their ball security.
joe's scouting reports are in pic.twitter.com/SvoEKNGPFo
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) April 23, 2025
The Chargers will be on the clock with the No. 22 pick in the NFL draft tonight. In his latest mock draft, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has Los Angeles taking Michigan CB Will Johnson in their spot.
Forrest Gump might have to wait another year.
More NFL Draft on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chargers GM Gives Honest Scouting Reports on Fictional Athletes, From Forrest Gump to Air Bud.
