Report: Ozzie Newsome denied Packers interview request for national scout Milt Hendrickson

The Baltimore Ravens scouting department has been criticized in recent years. A lack of impact, especially at the top of the draft, has left many wondering why they have continuously missed on players. First round selections such as Matt Elam and Breshad Perriman have not worked out. High draft picks Terrence Brooks and Arthur Brown only lasted two years in Baltimore.

A few months ago, owner Steve Bisciotti discussed the Ravens problems when it comes to player evaluation and the scouting. He mentioned that the team has had a tough time replacing certain senior scouts who have helped the team over the years, such as Joe Douglas. Douglas worked in Baltimore from 2000-2015, becoming a key figure in drafting Marshal Yanda, Ben Grubbs, Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, and Pernell McPhee, among others. Douglas departed in 2015 to the Chicago Bears, and is now the Philadelphia Eagles vice president of player personnel.

The Ravens don’t want to lose other scouts, and Newsome made an effort to keep one of his own, as reported by Bob McGinn, who covers the Green Bay Packers:

Milt Hendrickson has been with the Ravens since 2005 and replaced Douglas as national scout in 2016. He was previously in charge of scouting the middle region of the United States and began his Ravens tenure as a Midwest area scout before the regional position. He has mostly scouted offensive lineman and helped bring in Kelechi Osemele.

With this being Newsome’s final season as general manager, it seems he wants to keep as many in-house scouts as possible. McGinn says that he believes Hendrickson will join the Packers next season due to his prior relationship with Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst. When Eric DeCosta takes over the day-to-day operations next year as general manager, he may need to find a new national scout if Hendrickson does indeed bolt.