Chiefs Safety Lands on 2025 All-Breakout Team

The Kansas City Chiefs will have a lot of new faces on the defensive side of the ball next season. The Chiefs lost several key players to free agency this offseason. The Chiefs will look to put the right players in position to fill in those holes on that side of the ball. But the Chiefs have been good with that over the years, and it is going to be interesting to see what players step up for them.

One position that the Chiefs will look closely at is the safety position. They lost their veteran safety to the New Orleans Saints this offseason and now will look to turn the page to another young safety. And that is Jaden Hicks. Hicks has a lot of talent and will be good under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. They have confidence that he can come out next season and be good for the Chiefs.

Bradley Locker of PFF predicts that Hicks will have a big season and will be big for the Chiefs defense in 2025. They put Hicks on the 2025 NFL All-Breakout Team.

Safety: Jaden Hicks , Kansas City Chiefs

Most attention surrounding the Chiefs’ offseason has rightfully focused on the team’s adjusted offensive line, but Kansas City also must mitigate the exit of safety Justin Reid. That’s where Hicks should step up.

Across 469 snaps in 2024, Hicks recorded an impressive 75.1 overall PFF grade with a 75.7 PFF coverage grade and a miniscule 2.7% missed tackle rate — the third-lowest among qualified safeties. Hicks’ advanced PFF metrics are wildly impressive, such as his 91st percentile run stop rate and 74th percentile forced incompletion rate.

Steve Spagnuolo has earned a reputation for drafting and developing top defensive backs, from Trent McDuffie to Charvarius Ward to Jaylen Watson and more. Hicks, a former fourth-round pick, seems to check all the boxes of the next great Chiefs late-round find.

It is going to be interesting to see how Hicks impacts the defense. The Chiefs' defense was good last season, and they want to take that next step to be elite. Having a good secondary will be a big part of that and Hicks will play a big role next season. Will the Chiefs' defense lead the way again?

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