NFL Draft Profile: Elijah Hicks, Safety, Cal Golden Bears
#3
Pos: DS
Ht: 5110
Wt: 200
DOB: 10/16/99
Eligible: 2022
Long Beach, CA
La Mirada High School
Elijah Hicks
Cal Golden Bears
Pros:
Vandeventer: Continuing the tradition of Cal defensive backs going to the league, Elijah Hicks is primed to do the same. First off, he has played all over the place. With extensive time as a boundary corner before moving to safety, Hicks has a lot of qualities that'll transfer. Good backpedal to his game and transitions well when he runs with receivers. He plays receivers well and is willing to play through the hands to make a play on the ball without being overly handsy. A constant throughout Hicks' film is that he plays with great speed and a high motor. The Cal safety maintains good eyes in the backfield when reading the flow of the play. After identifying the ball carrier, Hicks uses his above-average closing speed to shrink the gap and is very aggressive with his willingness to take on blocks and as a tackler.
Cons:
Vandeventer: After making his move to safety, Hicks still didn’t show an overall improvement in comfort while in zone coverage. The lack of spatial awareness at times makes it harder for him to adjust on the top of routes. To go with that, Hicks is late to diagnosing routes and expresses situationally poor reaction time. Looks uncomfortable when he needs to read and process route combinations in front of him. The Cal safety has issues with getting his hands on receivers at and around the line of scrimmage. Punches just don’t connect when trying to redirect and flatten releases. This is also apparent when playing the run. Hicks doesn’t fight through blocks and when he does get to move freely downhill, he is an impatient tackler. He doesn’t properly break down at the tackle point and tends to lunge for tackles.
Summary:
Vandeventer: When it comes to defensive backs with great leadership, Elijah Hicks is what you look for. The versatile Cal safety can play all over the place but projects best as a safety in a system that plays primarily two-high. For Hicks though, he is still learning the position and lacks desired intangibles currently, and doesn’t have desired spatial awareness despite covering ground well. With his experience blitzing off the edge, Hicks could also see some run in the nickel or as a box safety. Regardless, he has a high enough floor to make an NFL team and climb his way up the depth chart over several years.
One-Liners
Vandeventer: Versatile defensive back with good movement skills but lacks intangibles and mental processing to be left alone in coverage.
Grades
Current Player Value/Potential Player Value
Vandeventer: 6.5 / 7.3
