Philadelphia Eagles: Big 2018 season in store for Jordan Hicks

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks has a big year ahead of him entering the final year of his deal while recovering form injury.

This is a big season coming up for Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks, entering the final year of his deal while trying to bounce back from injury. He expressed how good it felt to play six snaps in his first preseason game. Understandably, the road to recovery brought out his emotions.

Hicks was very active in the preseason loss to the New England Patriots with five tackles. However, the game did present some individual challenges for the former third-round pick.

No team likes to see their starting middle linebacker casually drift towards the line of scrimmage, only to get a stiff-arm from the running back, who then bounces it outside for 22 yards. This play happened early on in the first quarter as Hicks went unblocked and engaged with the defender.

He was tested again when lined up weak-side on second-and-9. They were in zone defense when he turned his attention to a receiver running in motion to his side, but the wideout didn’t really run a route. The receiver just flared out as a safety valve. For some reason, Hicks drifted towards the inside where Nigel Bradham was covering and gave up an easy eight yards. Sidney Jones came back to make the tackle one yard shy of a first down.

Hicks did slow down a screen play that could have gone for more than the 20 yards it went for. The play initiated with a fake screen on the strong side, one of many misdirection plays ran by the Patriots. Then, they caught Hicks calling out instructions when snapping the ball and hit the slot receiver in front of his zone area. This pass doesn’t get thrown if he’s ready. Again, in a zone on third-and-5, Hicks made a strong tackle to limit the receiver to a three-yard completion.

The task at hand for him was to come back from an Achilles injury and he’s done that. The next task will be to play at a high level again. He still looks textbook when backpedaling and running downhill to track down a ball carrier. His awareness is usually good, but that will be challenged after his time away from the field.

The good news is that the Eagles will likely be able to re-sign him on a team-friendly deal, if they wish to do so. I would assume they would extend him at some point during the season. Considering the injury history, along with the possibility that it may take him part of the season to get back to form, it may very well benefit the defending champions in terms of a long-term deal.

If he can find a way to stay on the field, I see a talent that could be the next Hardy Nickerson. Nickerson was a five-time Pro Bowler in the 1990s, who spent the prime of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nonetheless, Hicks has been an above-average starter that could get more snaps at outside linebacker, similar to how the rival Dallas Cowboys are doing with the injury-prone Sean Lee.

The Bradham extension provides insurance after seeing how he stepped into the middle linebacker role last season. He could step in again if Hicks isn’t the same player, gets injured again, or if the team decides to move on from Hicks after the season. In the end, I think Hicks is a good player that will return to solid form to sign a team-friendly extension.