Chiefs Hint at Desire to Expand Role of Rookie Safety Jaden Hicks

Day 3 draft pickup Jaden Hicks continues to impress the Kansas City Chiefs' coaching staff, and the team is hoping to get him more involved this season.

Aug 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks (21) celebrates against the Chicago Bears after recovering a fumble during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Of all the positions on the Kansas City Chiefs' early-season depth chart, there may not be a more insulated group than the safety spot. Justin Reid and Bryan Cook lead the way as starters, but Chamarri Conner and rookie Jaden Hicks are nothing to scoff at as key reserve options.

While it's great to have that depth, one of the built-in downsides of so many talented players at one position is that it's hard to get everyone involved on game day. Hicks, a Day 3 selection in April's NFL Draft, is a perfect example of that. After an excellent offseason and preseason, the Washington State product has logged just five defensive snaps through two regular-season contests. He didn't play at all on that side of the ball in Week 1's win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Despite his lack of high-level impact on defense, Hicks is making his presence known on special teams. He has 43 combined snaps in that realm – 20-plus in each game and good for 83% of those available. Dave Toub is a big fan of the rookie, citing him as someone who does a bit of everything for a unit that's posting a positive special teams DVOA so far.

“He’s in a lot of key spots for us right now," Toub said. "He’s our PP (personal protector) on punt, which he’s making all the calls and he’s also the MIKE on punt returns. He’s responsible, if a team ran a fake, to be able to stop that just like we used (Daniel) Sorensen in the past, so he’s in a lot of key roles for us and it’s going to help him develop as a safety learning football instincts and the speed of the game. He gets better and better each week. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice – that’s what I’m really happy about having him.”

During Sorensen's Chiefs tenure, he was one of the team's top special teams weapons and also shuffled in on defense as needed. That's exactly what Hicks is doing right now, and Sunday's victory against the Cincinnati Bengals is a perfect example. With Reid suffering a hand injury in the game, Hicks stepped in mid-drive and the defense didn't seem to skip a beat.

In the grand scheme of things, those five snaps won't make a huge difference. With that said, they served as proof of Hicks' versatility and readiness. Defensive backs coach Dave Merritt says he's consulted with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and both of them want to expand the current Hicks workload beyond special teams in due time.

"When J-Reid had his little boo-boo of his finger the other day, Jaden went right in and ended up showing up on a couple of plays for us," Merritt said. "So he's developing exactly the way we thought he would. As far as his role going forward, I think we can end up starting to see him a little more. Spags and I have talked about that, so hopefully that's going to be coming soon. Heck of a football player. We would like to continue to get him in there."

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