Chiefs rookie safety looks ready for immediate playing time if needed

The Kansas City Chiefs hit big on several players in this year's draft, including a defensive steal in the fourth round.

The Kansas City Chiefs weren't expected to come away with a safety in this year's draft class. With plenty of talent, including young players with long-term commitments, the Chiefs certainly had greater roster needs elsewhere. But when a good value falls into a team's lap, there's no need to overthink things.

No one is quite sure why Jaden HIcks was available at the end of the fourth round in this year's draft, but for the sake of the Chiefs draft haul, no one at Arrowhead Stadium is complaining.

It's not as if Hicks was projected to be a first-round pick, so the reaction here should be measured, but HIcks was, for many draft analysts, one of the top safeties on the big board. And certainly nearly every draftnik expected him to be off the board by the time the Chiefs made their second selection late in the fourth.

It's only been a few months of the Chiefs' offseason program—OTAs, minicamps, voluntary workouts, and some training camp—but Hicks has looked every bit the pro-ready playmaker he was projected to be. And for a team that's experienced some hiccups in the secondary, Hicks' presence has been a blessing.

So far, the Chiefs have missed Justin Reid for the entirely of training camp with a quad injury. Reid is the assumed starter at free safety, but a quad injury knocked him out for several weeks—he only recently returned to practice this week. That gave HIcks the chance to earn more reps early in the preseason. However, HIcks also said Reid has been an excellent player/coach as he adjusts to the game.

"He’s been amazing so far, coaching me up, learning what he’s learning. He’s showing me how to see plays and attack blocks, stuff like that. He’s been such a helpful guy in the room," said Hicks.

HIcks got his first taste of professional football with the Chiefs' preseason opener on the road in Jacksonville. Hicks looked solid when given playing time, but admitted he was nervous beforehand.

"I’ll say the atmosphere," said Hicks when asked by reporters about the most exciting part. "Even though it was a preseason game, the crowd was pretty live. … It was amazing seeing all of the guys getting ready for the game, getting all the jitters out as well. It was good, a good atmosphere."

When asked about his own performance, Hicks had some confidence and said, "I'm content with it." However, he also knows there's room for improvement by adding, "There were some plays I could have made. Still plays to be out there, but overall I did all right. ... Things I need to work on. I would just say overall to keep playing hard through the whistle. Some plays I was getting a little tired."

Hicks is projected to be a core special teams player for Dave Toub and the Chiefs going into this season and the first-year safety admitted NFL kickoffs were a bit ocnfusing in this first exhibition.

"With the new kickoff rule, that’s a bit of an adjustment with the close spacing and all of that. But learning all the roles and plays on defense, that’s going pretty smooth so far. I’m just looking to keep learning from that and go from here."

With Reid back, Hicks should find himself relegated to a backup role but the Chiefs aren't going to let his skill set languish on the bench for too long. It will be interesting to see how they bring him in on sub packages alongside Reid and Bryan Cook.