Kansas City Chiefs rookies just had a valuable four-day head start to training camp before the veterans arrive.
One of the more interesting rookies to watch during camp this year will be safety Jaden Hicks. The Chiefs selected Hicks in the sixth round of this past year's draft, which was a steal considering he was touted as one of the best safeties in the class. However, his roster spot isn't guaranteed as Kansas City is pretty stacked at safety.
Hicks will need to have a strong camp and preseason to make the team. He'll be asked to do a lot, which is what all defensive backs are tasked with while playing for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Hicks was a versatile player in college, splitting time as a free safety, box safety and slot defender.
That should help him as he transitions to the NFL. Another thing that will help him is being able to face the best quarterback in the world, Patrick Mahomes, every day during practice. Hicks commented on that this past week after a training camp practice.
“Obviously, he (Patrick Mahomes) is the best or if not one of the best quarterbacks in the league," Hicks said. "Just being able to watch him, see what he progresses through and stuff like that can definitely elevate the defense’s game and you know stuff like that. I try to watch him a lot when he is out there. Yeah, he is definitely one of those guys that are special with the ball.”
If Hicks can play well against Mahomes, he'll be just fine. Being able to watch what Mahomes does from multiple different positions will be a huge learning experience for Hicks. He'll not only face elite arm talent, but he'll get to see how Mahomes goes through his progressions and reads the defense.
With second-year player Chamarri Conner likely to play a lot of slot cornerback despite officially being listed as a safety, that could open the door for Hicks to get playing time. The Chiefs often deploy three safeties and could do so even more this year with the question marks they have at cornerback.
