Which Struggling Chiefs Defender Needs to Show Massive Improvement

Hicks, a former fourth-round pick by the Chiefs franchise, had a strong rookie campaign in the National Football League. Playing behind and learning from New Orleans Saints safety Justin Reid while he was in Kansas City, one of Hicks' goals this season was to emerge as a leader on defense, as Reid did.

In the first game of the year, Hicks' presence on the field wasn't too spectacular. According to Pro Football Focus, Hicks had an overall grade of 29.7, with a pass coverage grade of 31.2. Hicks also played in 39 defensive snaps, so it's not like his production on the field came from a lack of playing time.

Hicks is Better Than That

Last season, sticking with Pro Football Focus, Hicks was one of the more impressive rookies the Chiefs had on their roster, earning an overall grade of 75.1. Knowing that Hicks is capable of playing better, the Chiefs are going to need him to tap into that side of his game if the defense has any chance of holding off the Eagles' explosive offense.

Hicks had a pass coverage grade of 72.0 last season, ranking him as the 26th-best safety in the National Football League out of the 171 safeties that qualified for PFF's rankings.

Veteran safety Bryan Cook, who is a leader on the defense and to Hicks, believes that Hicks has what it takes to succeed in the NFL, highlighting his ability to learn earlier this offseason.

• "His capacity to learn. He's learning at a very rapid rate, which is pretty good," Cook said. "And as well as the fact that he's always high energy, things like that. So, sometimes if some of our vets are a little low that day, he will bring the energy, bring the juice. And as I said before, he's always ready to learn."

What better time to learn than right now? Learn from Week 1 for Week 2, and if those lessons have been learned, expect to see Hicks have a great game for Kansas City.