Saints Pick Akeim Hicks DT - Regina Canada
 

Hicks looks like he has the size to be an NFL starter at 6'5" 318 lbs. All info says he's a "developmental" player. I was kinda hoping we would go for Billy Winn from BSU, but I don't question Loomis.

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Saints take DT Hicks in third

METAIRIE — After signing a defensive tackle and three linebackers in free agency, the New Orleans Saints continued their efforts to upgrade that side of the ball with their first and only pick in the draft Friday night.

With no selections in the first or second rounds, the Saints had to wait almost 27 hours after the draft began Thursday night to make their first pick in the third round — the 89th player overall — and used it to take defensive tackle Akiem Hicks of the University of Regina in Canada.

“We’re real excited about our pick, he’s a guy we really studied a lot,” said Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt, who has assumed the day-to-day duties of suspended coach Sean Payton. “As late as Friday, we spent about 11/2 or two hours on this player.

“We love his tenacity,” he said. “We know he’s raw, but that’s the fun part of it. He has good work habits and good resiliency. He’s a big-bodied player.”

Read more.
Saints take DT Hicks in third | Saints | The Advocate

Akiem Hicks
 

Saints took him with their first pick in the third round.

If the name sounds familiar, Hicks was one of the kids LSU lost when the recruiting violation dust-up happened last year. Apparently he went to Canada and dominated.

There were plenty of people at the time who ranked him ahead of Michael Brockers and we all saw how Brockers turned out. I'm excited about this pick.

And can someone correct the name please? Akeim Hicks. ha ha! Sorry fellas, I'm sleep deprived.

Diamonds in the rough is what they do best.

Spags is known for developing his linemen.....

Certainly addresses a need. Recruited heavily by LSU so we know talent is there. Can't wait to see how he develops under Spags.

I'm very happy to see we went d-line...nice job as always Loomie...now let's score a lawsuit against ESPN and my off season will be complete. LOL

HE'S HUGE!

spags is dominating the season so for go de

6-4or 6-5 a little under 300 yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

NFL.com's link had him listed as a DE at 6'4" 318 lbs. 5.22 in the 40. Had to do a double take on that one.

This guy graded just over a 50 I believe. Probably because of the Canadian program he was in. Anyone know what the prob was when he was trying to enroll at LSU???

Major NCAA violations result in probation for LSU football

LSU provided him with transportation and hotel room when they were recruiting him, so it wasn't his fault...

love it

no doubt! Under the guidance of Spagnoulo, he has the real potential of being a beast!

now i have to redo tomorrows listing for the draft. this is a reach in my book but i wanted the saints to pick him. a round or two later but heck he is a saint now.

no more short DT one day. saints start batting down passes at the line.

Hofstra, Bloomsburg, Toledo, Regina... Thank God for our scouts... And Hicks, welcome to the best fanbase you'll ever have the pleasure of playing for!!

Actually I like the pick. He may come on a lot sooner than people think.

he can't do any worse than what Ellis, Rodgers, Franklin did this year :mrgreen:

Looks like a great pick! I like what I've read about him.

So the guy might just be our diamond this year?

I'm very happy with this pick, I had him in my initial draft wish list in the mock draft thread - I have seen very favorable evaluations of him, which took into account the fact that he played in Canada, as to not give him an artificially inflated grades.


Akiem Hicks, Regina, NFL Draft - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

The consensus seems to be we picked him early but you can't teach his size. Hopefully he thrives under Spags and can work his way into the rotation.

Saints selected Regina DT Akiem Hicks with the No. 89 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.


Hicks began his college career at LSU, where he was rated as a better recruit than No. 14 overall pick Michael Brockers. Transferring to Regina in Canada, Hicks came on with 6.5 sacks as a senior and generated some buzz during East-West Shrine Game practices. Hicks is 6-foot-5 and 318 pounds, and he possesses freakishly long 35 1/8-inch arms. He's a very high-upside project.

Per rotoworld

He's raw but Spags will whip him into shape. Canada, UM

Obviously no one knows how a player is going to actually turn out, but who didn't scratch his head when Parcells picked Demarcus Ware out of Troy with the 11th overall?

I didn't think I'd be in the minority when I thought this after the Saints picked Hicks, but I guess I am. I'm totally unimpressed with the pick. Not because he doesn't have potential, which he does, but because we didn't have a need so great at DT that we had to draft yet another project when there were more proven players at other positions of need. Loomis has hit some home runs with these types of players, as we all know, but he's also struck out a few times. I thought there were some very good players surprisingly left on the board, but apparently they are in love with this guy.

We don't have very good OT's. They're serviceable, but require a lot of help from the tight ends which takes away from the amount of time Jimmy Graham can be on the field. Bobby Massie was right there, and they didn't take him. Jared Crick, a more polished DT, was there, Ladarius Green was there if the Saints were interested in some play making depth behind Graham. But oh well, all I can do is hope it works out.

Would have been fine with picking him if it were maybe the 5th or 6th round, but this was a reach in my opinion.

I disagree; D-Line is/was our biggest need, save for depth at CB...

No need to draft offense with our first pick, when we have the exact same record setting offense from last year...

Spagnoulo relies on pressure from the line, which we could not get last year. With his guidance, Hicks can be great.

Oh and he probably could play tomorrow and do a better job than Ellis, Rodgers, Franklin did last year...

Im with you. DT and CB was our biggest need. Does he need guidance and coaching of course but I think we have the right coach's to make it happen.

Now we need CB. :bng:

Mitch, thanks for the youtube clip.

I like how this guy talked in the interview. He's got the size and the attitude to be an impact player. If Loomis thought enough of this guy to burn our first pick of the draft on a defensive lineman, then obviously they see some major potential here. This is no camp body pick. This was a well thought out selection.
I'm in.

?? i thought he was a receiver for the giants ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakeem_Nicks ) ....ok just kidding
hey its defense i like the pick

Looks like a very versatile player, playing DE and DT but the guy is huge and has good closing speed for a DT, he may need to work on his strength and technique as he's going against some of the best guards in the league, could be a diamond in the rough with tons of upside, he's on our team now so let's root for him

I like the pick in itself, and I do think that a playmaking DT was the biggest need they had going into the draft, but I do agree that a 3rd round pick might be higher than I would've liked to see them spend on him.

But like Mayock continuously said during the 1st round coverage - if the pick works out it doesn't matter what you had to give up to get the guy.

I guess they really liked him, and thought that he'd be off the board when they'd be on the clock for the next time, for all we know he might've been the BPA in a need position, so I can't really fault the decision.

My friend, I understand your concerns but to mention our offense's shortcomings after the season we had last year, especially your comment on Jimmy Graham's playing time seems a little unnecessary. We needed to address our defense, especially our Line as one of our problems was lack of Qb pressure. Yes this guy is raw but so is a steak until given some heat and some spices and...erm, a little barbecue glaze with...ah, erm...sorry, can't finish my point as I need to get something to Eat. Bye.

I think those of you who are disagreeing with me are missing my point. I didn't particularly want an offensive guy, but in the 3rd round there isn't a lot of elite talent left on the board. So you take the best player regardless of position, unless it's a quarterback or running back, which we obviously have no need or lack of depth there.

I mentioned Massie because he was, in my opinion, the best player left on the board. I haven't forgotten the Rams game last year when Drew nearly got killed. Our tackles are only saved by Drew's ability to feel the pressure, step up and make quick decisions. We signed Brodrick Bunkley, so we're already better at DT than we have been in a while. Could we use another? Sure, but I don't believe Hicks is good enough, or specifically reliable enough to warrant being picked over some of the other talent that was there.

This isn't a blue collar, great work ethic, physical specimen that Graham, Colston and Evans have been as project type players. He's got the physical part, but he doesn't have the greatest attitude, and that's what keeps me from feeling very confident about him. You can't get better if you don't want to work hard 100% of the time. But I will of course be pulling for him now that he's on our team.

I think enough has been done through free agency to upgrade the defense, that the Saints don't need to approach any position as a glaring need. I don't mind getting another DT but I wouldn't mind getting an OT considering it is the only weakness we have on offense. I simply didn't like the selection of Hicks, because for one he is vastly unproven, but mainly he doesn't seem to have a want to be great. Everybody loves his potential and so do I, but I have concerns about his character.

I thought he got drafted already!!! Like in a previous draft!!!! Name sounds familiar cause of the former ties to LSU!!!!