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Kansas City Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks could be leaned on much more heavily in 2025.

The Kansas City Chiefs tend to lose two or three important players in NFL free agency every offseason. The key is identifying the correct prospects and/or signings who are ready to step right in and replace them the following year.

In the case of starting safety and defensive team leader Justin Reid — who left on the open market — that next man up is already on the roster according to Pro Football Network’s team of analysts. PFN highlighted second-year safety Jaden Hicks as the “most likely” KC player to “step up” in 2025, and the recent fourth-round pick is the perfect choice for multiple reasons.

“Safety Justin Reid has been a staple of the Kansas City Chiefs defense since he joined the team in 2022,” Pro Football Network wrote within a list shared with Heavy on Chiefs. “He became a free agent and signed with the New Orleans Saints. It’s never easy losing a veteran leader who’s contributed a great deal to the team’s success, but Jaden Hicks may be up to the task of taking over the strong safety spot.”

“The Chiefs drafted Hicks in the fourth round last April, and the former Washington State standout exceeded expectations,” PFN went on. “Hicks appeared in 20 games last season, including the playoffs. He recorded 42 tackles, three interceptions, and five pass breakups. He was targeted 14 times in the regular season, allowing a passer rating of 79.5.”

Finally, the football analysis site added that “Hicks consistently got better as the season progressed, and playing behind and learning from Reid certainly helped.”

With Reid now gone, it’ll be Hicks’ show,” they concluded, “and he’s clearly already earned the trust of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.”

Chiefs Safety Jaden Hicks Was Utilized Heavily Down the Stretch in 2024

Kansas City pretty much prepped for this transition already, increasing Hicks’ defensive snap count down the stretch.

Early on in his rookie year, he was getting less than 10 defensive snaps per game according to Pro Football Focus. That number steadily increased as the season went on, and then it really picked up in Week 15 versus the Cleveland Browns.

Hicks was on the field for 41 defensive snaps against the Browns, earning an impressive 79.6 overall grade (with a 77.2 as a tackler and a 74.8 in coverage). Before long, the rookie DB broke that snap count high on Christmas Day versus Pittsburgh with 53, then broke it again the following week as KC rested their starters.

In Hicks’ lone NFL start, he was fantastic, posting his second best PFF grade of the season (80.8). The Chiefs backups got blown out that game, but it wasn’t Hicks’ fault. The draft pick earned a 67.1 in run defense, 81.4 as a tackler and 79.2 in coverage.

More specifically, Hicks was credited with 4 key defensive “stops” that game, as well as a low 56.3 passer rating when targeted (1 catch for 2 yards).

The youngster continued that momentum into the playoffs with two 50-snap outings of solid impact and a relatively flawless 39-snap effort during the Super Bowl.

Chiefs’ Jaden Hicks Is an Upgrade on Justin Reid in Pass Coverage, But Might Be Slightly Worse as a Run Defender

If Hicks does have a weakness, it appears to be run defense. That’s not to say he’s a bad run defender, because he’s not, but the soon-to-be 23-year-old seems more average — or slightly above average — in this area.

He was borderline elite as a tackler in year one, however, with just 1 missed tackle over 469 snaps, and he was also very high quality in pass coverage.

PFN relayed a lot of Hicks’ statistics in these areas above, but the one that stands out most in his accumulative passer rating against as a rookie. That low 79.5 passer rating against speaks volumes to how good Hicks can become with just a little bit more development.

Michael Obermuller covers the NFL and NHL for Heavy.com, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins, as well as the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. An NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate, his previous bylines include FanDuel’s The Duel, King Fantasy Sports and Pro Football Mania. More about Michael Obermuller