The Green Bay Packers made major moves at the Safety position this off-season. First, they decided to move on from both Darnell Savage and Jonathan Owens. Second, they landed the best available Safety in free agency with Xavier McKinney.
They have already done a lot to revamp the Safety position, however, they aren’t even close to done. They’ll likely sign (or draft) another Safety as well as get a cornerback who is versatile within the secondary. As it turns out, there is one player who is suddenly gaining steam to land with Green Bay.
The Green Bay Packers Being Heavily Linked To New Safety
According to Freddie Boston of FanSided:
There was no doubting Jaden Hicks’ talent and potential. It all came down to testing.
The Washington State safety didn’t run at the NFL Combine, although he performed well in the other drills, including a 37.5-inch vertical jump and 16 bench press reps. Hicks answered any remaining questions at his Pro Day. According to ESPN’s Matt Miller, he ran in the 4.47-4.49 range.
The additional data gives Hicks an unofficial Relative Athletic Score of 9.29 out of 10. That works.
There’s so much to love about Hicks’ game and how he could fit Jeff Hafley’s defense. McKinney will likely play a lot of snaps as the deep safety, whereas Hicks is ideal in the box.
What Would The Packers Be Getting In Jaden Hicks?
Hicks’ draft profile says a lot about how he could fit in the Packers’ defense:
Hicks’ testing will be extremely important for his draft outlook, as teams will want to see how he can run and change direction. He’s aggressive as a run-and-hit striker but doesn’t get as many squared-up, run-through tackles as expected. He plays in the box as an add-on run defender, but he might be a better cover man.
Hicks is a straight-line mover and will have his issues when asked to flow with big bending route breaks — however, he plays with good instincts, has impressive ball skills and can line up over pass-catching tight ends.
There are qualities to his game that could make him a feast-or-famine safety, but ultimately, he has the traits and upside to bet on in the middle rounds.
Hicks could be a great compliment to what Xavier McKinney will bring to the Packers’ defense.
There is no doubt that the Packers aren’t done adding to the Safety position, could Hicks get the call?
