Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

I've been watching Hicks at the U of R for the past couple seasons, and I've got to say i was very impressed with his play on Thursday. I've known for a long time that he possesses the raw athletic ability, but you can never be sure that a player can put it all together at the highest level. Seeing Hicks do the things he did this week gave me confidence that he'll be a contributor on this defense by the end of the year. Here's hoping I'm right.

On a bit of a side note, I'm just curious if you guys had heard this. As a Regina guy, I've heard that Hicks was actually a more sought after recruit than Michael Brockers by LSU (they were the same recruiting class). Hicks ended up in Canada, Brockers ended up a first round pick. Just goes to show you what the ceiling for this kid might be.

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

Any player that can force his blocker backwards into the QB and force a bad throw is cool with me

Hicks may be a raw talent, but there's no denying his natural strength and effort

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

This guys is going to be a beast he remind me of Perrie Paul in New York

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

They're not remotely the same.

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

It was a good quote.

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

Agreed, if I had to pick one player from that Giants' roster and from the time Spags was there... I'd say Hicks reminds Chris Canty the most.

In fact, that was the reason why I wanted the Saints to pick tall DTs from the past draft because Spags had that in Canty in NY, and my favorites were because of that Derek Wolfe and Akiem Hicks, in that order.



Yeah, I think most of us here knew that, and it was something that was discussed quite a lot after the Saints picked Hicks in this past draft. Mike Mayock said during the draft that he wasn't at all certain that if Hicks would've been able to play for LSU that we'd be talking about Brockers as the #1 DT coming out from LSU - meaning that Hicks has the talent to be at least on the same level as Brockers, and with the benefit of that program, his potential would've been higher with the right coaching.

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

Not sure. Walker can play in the middle, and also at DE (think of Cam Jordan, only with DT being Walker's natural position, and DE being Cam Jordan's). This team likes players who can play more than one position.

Walker could be PS bound, but Tom Johnson and Remi Ayodele are not locks, so Walker could actually make it as a backup DT, who could be switched to DE. I actually like Tyrunn Walker's chances, assuming he continues to apply pressure in the next three preseason games.

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

Spagnuolo loves guys that can play more than one position.

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

Keep it up in the regular season

Re: New Orleans Saints might have found gem in Akiem Hicks
 

What player on the Giants.roster under Spags does he remind you of the most?