The Chicago Bears took eight players on the third day of the 2022 draft. That included two 5th round picks, three 6th round picks, and three 7th round picks. GM Ryan Poles intended to take as many swings as possible, leaning on his scouts to point the way towards guys that could help the football team. One of them must’ve had an eye on Cal safety Elijah Hicks because the team snagged him just nine slots before the end of the draft.
Upon evaluating some of the tape, Hicks stands out. He has good size, athleticism, and demonstrates a nose for the football. His three interceptions and four forced fumbles in 2021 were hard evidence of that ability. Given those traits, it isn’t easy to understand why the young defender didn’t go earlier in the draft. It appears that sentiment is shared by multiple scouts around the NFL, as Adam Hoge of CHGO found out.
“It might surprise you to see Hicks this high on this list, but I talked to a couple of talent evaluators who had mid-round grades on Hicks and couldn’t believe he didn’t receive more attention in the pre-draft process. The safety wasn’t invited to the Combine or the Senior Bowl and got hurt in practice before the East-West Shrine Game. That undoubtedly hurt his stock. Hicks has early special teams contributor written all over him and he has the credentials to stick as a backup safety with three interceptions and four forced fumbles last season.”
In all likelihood, they would’ve been right if not for one unfortunate setback.
While participating in practice ahead of the East-West Shrine Game, Hicks suffered an undisclosed injury. He missed the game and did not receive an invitation to the scouting combine as a result. Even worse, he couldn’t participate at the Cal pro day. That missed opportunity to show NFL teams what he could do was the leading cause of his sagging draft stock. Had he stayed healthy, there is a possible chance he would’ve gone in the 4th or 5th rounds.
This is a classic case of a team trusting what they see on film. Poles repeatedly said that they wouldn’t lean too heavily on the pre-draft process. If they felt a player looked right for them in actual games, they wouldn’t have any qualms about drafting them. Elijah Hicks became one such example. While his path to a possible starting job is a difficult one, this is the type of player that should end up a standout on special teams at the very least. Anything beyond that makes the pick an outright steal.
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