Andy Reid impressed by this Chiefs defender vs. Jaguars: ‘He’s big and he’s fast’
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid went out of his way to highlight a pair of players who “jumped out” in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On offense, it was rookie running back Carson Steele.
And on defense, it was fourth-round safety Jaden Hicks.
The latter, Reid said, “did a nice job all the way around” while contributing on defense and special teams.
“I liked what I saw,” Reid said. “He’s big, and he’s fast.”
A few minutes after the game in a steamy (and non-air-conditioned) Chiefs locker room, Hicks smiled wide when talking about his initial pro experience.
“It was surreal being out there, first NFL game,” Hicks told The Star. “So it was awesome.”
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Hicks displayed his physicality on a couple of first-half plays in particular.
On one third-and-long, he wrapped up the ankle of Jacksonville running back Tank Bigsby to bring him down cleanly in the open field. Hicks described it this way: “Just doing my technique, doing what we were taught: breaking down at the point of contact.”
Later, on special teams, Hicks sprinted downfield on a punt and made another play in open space, upending Jacksonville returner Austin Trammell for no gain.
Hicks, who finished with three tackles, had a debut that energized his teammates as well.
Chiefs safety Bryan Cook labeled Saturday’s exhibition as “a nice way for us to see who we have.” In other words, the team uses days like Saturday to see which young players they can potentially trust to perform under pressure.
Hicks, through that lens, is off to a good start.
“It was smooth,” Cook said of Hicks’ first game. “Obviously he’s working on some kinks. He’s still playing a lot of roles at a young age, so that’s gonna be a task for him. But he has guys around him to help him and keep motivating him to continue to do well.
“But the way he’s doing — and the mindset he has — he’s doing a phenomenal job.”
Hicks, who is the Chiefs’ youngest player on defense at 21, certainly didn’t look nervous Saturday. He reported feeling “good, comfortable” before the game, while saying he felt prepared to be out there.
“It was awesome, just catching that feeling,” Hicks said of being on an NFL field. “But nothing too much different from college, I would say.”
One of his only miscues came late in the second quarter. Hicks, while coming on a blitz, went too high on Jacksonville quarterback CJ Beathard to draw a roughing-the-passer penalty. Hicks said he was attempting to block or tip the pass before staying too high when completing the play.
Even that snap showed some aggressiveness — and perhaps just the start of the Chiefs looking to utilize Hicks in numerous different roles during the 2024 season.
Afterward, Hicks didn’t want to go too far when asked what he had shown coaches on Saturday night.
“It’s everyday work,” Hicks said. “Hopefully I made a good impression, but the work continues.”
