The Chiefs have had a plethora of top safeties recently, with guys like Eric Berry, Tyrann Mathieu, and Justin Reid all being some of the best defensive backs in the NFL while playing in Kansas City. You can even go as far back as Deron Cherry or Jerome Woods to represent some of the incredible talent that has come through Kansas City at the back end of the secondary.
Now, the departure of star safety Justin Reid there are big shoes to be filled, but there is growing confidence Jaden Hicks could be up next in a long line of successful Kansas City Chiefs safeties.
Hicks was my favorite pick for the Chiefs in 2024 when he fell to the fourth round and the Chiefs grabbed him with pick 133. I had Hicks ranked as the second-best safety in the 2024 class (behind Cole Bishop) and I couldn't have been happier with his fit in Kansas City.
Hicks is a big and athletic safety, who came in at six-feet-two inches, 210 pounds and declared early for the draft after his redshirt sophomore season at Washington State. Hicks also proved to be one of the most athletically gifted players in the class, after he posted an 8.96 RAS (relative athletic score) placing him around the 11th percentile of safeties since 1987.
In college, Hicks proved to be a valuable defensive weapon who can play all over the field, with a great skillset in coverage and as a tackler. In his two seasons playing at Washington State, Hicks totaled 155 tackles, 8 TFLs, 3.5 sacks and 3 interceptions, proving his ability to do it all in the secondary. This skillset is exactly what the Chiefs want to see from their safeties and likely played a significant role in their willingness to move on from Justin Reid this offseason.
Hicks has only played a total of 330 snaps in the NFL, and will need some more consistent play time to prove himself. But if Hicks is able to translate the skills he flashed in college to the NFL, Hicks very well could be on his way to being the next great safety in Kansas City.