Chicago Bears: Akiem Hicks finally getting credit for stellar play

Chicago Bears’ defensive lineman Akiem Hicks had a stellar career in his three seasons there without much fanfare. Now that the team is winning, he is getting much-deserved attention.

It’s a wonder seeing how much perception changes when a team starts winning. You can be playing well on a losing team and no one notices. You can play the same way on a winning team and suddenly everyone sees how good of a player you really are. Such is the case for Chicago Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks.

Hicks was the New Orleans Saints’ third-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft. He had three nondescript seasons (though he had a career-high 63 tackles in 2013). Early in the 2015 season, the Saints gave up on him and traded him to the New England Patriots. After helping the Patriots get to the AFC Championship Game, they promptly allowed him to walk away.

The Bears, desperate for help along the defensive line, signed Hicks to a one year contract. They basically wanted to see if he was worth making a bigger investment in later. They felt he was, and they signed him to a four-year, $48 million contract.

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Some of the experts around the league were surprised that Hicks received. He got paid like one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL but they didn’t view him as one. Hicks still had some more proving to do.

In his first two seasons in Chicago, Hicks had excellent seasons. He recorded 108 tackles and 15.5 sacks. Those numbers were good enough for him to be named to the Pro Bowl. Surely he’d be named to at least one, but the league failed to recognize either season as deserving of the honor.

Then the 2018 season happened. The Chicago Bears made a blockbuster trade with the Oakland Raiders that reeled in All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack. That move changed the narrative of the team. Suddenly everyone played better, and the defense went from good to elite.

In the process of the Bears’ turnaround, Hicks became a better player. He did so even though his stats were about the same as he had in his first two seasons in Chicago. In 2018, he recorded 55 tackles and 7.5 sacks.

• 2016: 54 tackles, 7.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 17 QB hits
• 2017: 54 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, 20 QB hits
• 2018: 55 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 16 QB hits

While the stats are pretty much the same over his three seasons in Chicago, suddenly Hicks is a star away from Chicago. He finally got his Pro Bowl berth and people around the league now notice his work.

Cynthia Frelund, NFL.com’s analytics expert, recently wrote an article on the most underappreciated players in the NFL. In it, she ranks Hicks third. This is what she said about Hicks:

"Hicks’ individual contribution metric ranked fourth among interior defensive linemen in my model last season. Pro Football Focus credits him with 51 pressures (tied for ninth-most among interior D-linemen) and 34 run stops (second-most among interior D-linemen) last season, which helps give context to his value. My favorite computer vision note from my model? Hicks’ ability to get within five or fewer feet from opposing quarterbacks (a proxy for pressure) increased in the second half of games last season. Only two other interior defenders ended the season getting “faster” as games went on."

Hicks was Chicago’s best-kept secret. Now that secret is out for the NFL world to see. He is one of the top defensive linemen in the league and will continue to wreak havoc on opposing offenses for some time.