Grading Saints Third Pick, Akiem Hicks.
 

Grading The New Orleans Saints Third Round Pick Defensive Tackle Akiem Hicks : New Orleans Saints

What do you guys think about him? I gave this pick a B-.

I like it, especially the reasoning for not taking Crick...

As for the pick, I think he's a project with a lot of potential. Spagnoulo has a knack for fielding excellent lineman, I trust he will make Hicks the best he can be...

I'm projecting him to be in the rotation early.

B minus...

Why? Why are you grading a player who hasn't played a down yet?

I would give the pick potential a C. He was courted by LSU so he has skills and he is huge. Will probably be part of a rotation on the back end, but as long as he fills a need he's worth the pick.

I'll wait and see. In Loomis I trust !

Who did Franklin sign with? I have totally missed that transaction if there was one.

Wikipedia says he is still a free agent

In wikipedia we trust! ;-)


The NFL FA tracker doesn't have him signed with anyone yet, so I'm not sure where the opposite information is coming from?

That was my mistake. I could have sworn I read that he signed with Kansas City. I should have re-checked that.

Editing that part out. >_>

if hicks can bat down 10-15 balls this year i'll give him an A, doesnt he have reach ?

he's 6'5" with a 86 inch wingspan

I can see some personal fouls because of this. In the NFL he can't touch a QB head at all.

not true; they changed the rule this offseason... intentional helmet contact will still be called, but those weak barely touching the helmet hits are not supposed to be called;

Ahhh sweet! Now if the refs can just get the calls right...

No prob. I was just more curious about the possible signing of him elsewhere than pointing out a "mistake" in your article, which was well written as always.

I guess the Chiefs would've been a potential landing spot for him before the draft, but now that they'll be bringing in Poe, he might not be able to have as big of a role there as he might've liked to.

if he sees any solid playing time by mid season i will be happy. that means he was not as big of a reach as i thought. as of today i still say he could have waited a round. i do not think he would have been there in the 5th for us.

i hope the upside is as high as i think it might be

lets see what the season bring.

I wanted to pick Akiem Hicks, but I thought we could get him in the fifth round considering some of the guys who were still available I think we made a pretty big mistake. Alameda Ta'amu, Ladarius Green, and Bobby Massie between Hicks and Toon. I think Toon was a horrible pick considering the fact that Jared Crick was still available. We could have had Tommy Streeter and Brandon Washington and Adrien Cole and Chase Ford (a 6'7" TE with good speed and could end up being a steal).

I just don't know what we were doing.

Considering that someone like Derek Wolfe went as high as immediately at the beginning of the 2nd round, the FO might've been hesitant to gamble on Hicks being available in later rounds. And if it's true what they said, that Hicks was on top of their board as the BPA when they were picking, then picking him where they did wasn't a reach in any sense of the word. Also, I've seen draft evaluations where Hicks was a late 3rd to middle 4th prospect.

I think that Hicks will be a better player than Crick going forward. While Crick is much more league ready as of now than Hicks, I think Hicks will catch up and surpass him in a season or two. The fact that Crick slipped down as low as he did seems to signal that teams were very concerned about his injury ridden college career and that the presence of Suh might've have inflated his numbers - he didn't really get a chance to prove otherwise with the injury he had afterwards.

Ta'amu is a NT who wouldn't really fit in a defense primarily playing from a 4-3 base, so I understand why he wasn't a DT target for the Saints. Also, I think it was good that they gave the defense the main focus in this year's draft, because they probably won't have that chance ever again after SP returns after this season. ;-)

Oh, and as an example, CBS Sports had him projected as a 3rd to 4th round pick, 124th overall, and 12th at position:

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

They didn't give the defense the main focus. They took two defensive players (DT, DB) and three offensive players (WR, G, T)

They used 2 of the first 3 picks for a defensive player, so in my mind that is giving the defense the main focus in a draft where you only have 5 picks overall.

Grading draft picks before they have ever hit even the practice field is sort of like ordering a wife off of the internet... You really have no clue what you will get.


Example. Jamarcus Russell

The answer is subjective. Depends on PERSONAL feelings on what statistics it would take for him to be a good pick in your mind.

Yes, I remembered him working out for them then I thought I read he was signing there, or had signed there.

I'd rather you point out a mistake, or question it, than let it slide. It's GREATLY appreciated.

You're right, the fact that my two favorite DTs for the Saints to pick were Wolfe and Hicks before the draft - in that order - and seeing Wolfe go off the board as early as he did, I was very relieved and happy when they picked Hicks.

Kudos to you. I saw several posters mention Akiem Hicks over the last 3 months, but forgot who they were.

We needed and need some youth in the middle.
I hope he shakes some schlitz up.
Big young monster in the middle - 6'5" and +300.
Even if he dosn't come into his own until next season, this year will be good training.
I just hope he stays healthy and develops well.
Good pick.

This pick definitely gets an..................Inc! I can't figure folk who grade drafts before two, or more years pass.

You can still grade the pick. Like, if they grabbed a seventh round prospect in the third round, at a position like say, RB, instead of an area of need..

A lot of people are interested in learning about draft picks, especially ones they don't know about. That's why people do the "grades." Something to write about + giving people insight = page views and something to do.

Sure, they may be busts, but still. As it stands right now, grading a player is no different than 6,000 posts saying "I like this guy" or "Bad choice imo." Instead, you're just giving a letter on how much you like or don't like a player/pick.

Kinda like a power ranking, but for draft picks.:p

No one is grading the player based on his NFL performance. The grade is for how good of a prospect does he appear to be, how does he fit with your teams scheme, how does he fit your teams needs, how risky is the pick, could you have picked the same player later, should the player have been picked sooner, etc.

Its a draft grade based on a consensus of information known about the prospect.

If you picked a CB in the 1st round who was projected as a UDFA at 5'-7" and ran a 4.9 40 yard dash, I'd give that selection an F.

If you picked up Andrew Luck in the 3rd round, I'd give that selection an A.

It was a very solid pick. Nicks will be in the rotation & should contribute this year. I like the Nick Toon pick, too. We did well with what we had as a franchise.

Exactly, Danno.