Akiem Hicks didn’t need long to become one of the most entertaining and quotable personalities the Chicago Bears have had in years. The big defensive end is not only a monster on the field, he’s an absolute riot off it too. Part of the reason for that is his tendency to offer his rather unvarnished opinion on anything and everything.
Just in the past few months, he’s had no qualms about digging on his own teammates. He slammed cornerback Prince Amukamara, calling him a quitter for bailing early on a game of Madden. Then he went on a trip to Kentucky with linebackers Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski where he proceeded to abuse them mercilessly.
Suffice to say he doesn’t hold anything back. So it might be interesting to hear his initial impressions on new Bears first round pick Roquan Smith.
Akiem Hicks likes Roquan Smith but couldn’t resist needling him
Hicks took time away from Bears practices to appear on SiriusXM NFL Radio to talk about the Bears and their upcoming season. He was eventually asked about the Bears rookie. As any good leader, he offered a favorable review of his skill set. However, being the man he is he just couldn’t resist a tiny jab at Smith’s expense.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
"Definitely smaller than I thought he would be but he plays like he's 6'5. Really explosive. He looks good out there, he's picking it up real quick"@The_Dream99 on #Bears rookie LB @RoquanSmith1 pic.twitter.com/FJlRSr7uXY
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) May 16, 2018
The most talked-about drawback of Smith as a player is his size. He’s 6’1″, which isn’t bad but only 225 lbs. That’s rather light for a linebacker and a big reason why he has a lot of trouble taking on blocks from offensive linemen. Then again this is the same problem Ray Lewis had his entire career and he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Smith wasn’t drafted to take on blocks. He was drafted to play his style of game which is fast, sideline-to-sideline, seek-and-destroy play.
He’s supposed to be the quarterback of the defense. It’s the job of Hicks and the rest of the defensive line to keep blockers away from him. The dig on his size was likely nothing more than a playful reminder of how much of a vital role he’ll play in the rookie’s future success. So don’t forget it.
