The Kansas City Chiefs' defense has been a talking point for all the wrong reasons this season. They've regressed from their championship-winning dominance, and while they still rank seventh in points given up per game (19.4), the Chiefs' defensive performances haven't always been up to the standard.
Although there's plenty of room for improvement, the secondary needs it the most. They've given up big completions down the stretch, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been either unable or unwilling to make the necessary adjustments.
Notably, plenty of that might come from his lack of confidence in some of the young players, such as Jaden Hicks. As shown by Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports, Spagnuolo doesn't seem to be that high on the second-year safety.
"'If you ask Jaden, he'd tell you he's had an up-and-down season. We're going to need him now... He's had some flasshes... He's made some mistakes that we wouldn't have thought he would make in his second season," Spagnuolo said, via Goldman.
Jaden Hicks Clearly Needs to Regain Chiefs' Trust
Hicks has played the second-most snaps among Chiefs safeties this season (352), trailing Bryan Cook (587). However, most of his play has been situational, with games playing just four snaps (week 9) and others playing 60 (Week 13).
It looks like his role with the team has been more reactionary or matchup-based. While that makes sense to a degree, it has clearly hurt his development.
Granted, it's not like Hicks been a shutdown defender whenever he's been out there. He's allowed a 75.0% completion rate and 117.5 passer rating on 24 targets in coverage, and he's only averaged 0.7 run stops per game compared to 7.6 last year. It's not a huge drop-off, but it's still a regression, nonetheless.
That being said, it's hard to find consistency and improve when you're on and off the field and don't seem to have a well-defined role.
Fortunately, Hicks has made some positive strides despite the lackluster playing time. He's improved from his rookie season, taking his yards per completion down from 12.0 to 8.7. He also has 31 total tackles, three passes defensed, and one quarterback hit.
Bryan Cook is a stud, especially after he's been instrumental in two Super Bowl wins. Then again, he's about to become an unrestricted free agent in March, and with money being tight in Missouri, Spagnuolo & Co. might benefit from giving Hicks an extended run to prove whether he can take on a bigger role if Cook gets a bigger paycheck somewhere else.
But before Hicks can worry about his future with the Chiefs, he has to find a way to regain the coaching staff's trust before he runs out of time.