Jaden Hicks Drafted in Fourth Round by Kansas City Chiefs

DETROIT (April 27, 2024) – Washington State Cougars safety Jaden Hicks was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2024 National Football League Draft Saturday.
 
Hicks was selected as the No. 33 pick of the fourth round and No. 133 overall. Hicks is the second Cougar drafted by the Chiefs in the past three seasons after cornerback Jaylen Watson was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. Washington State has had defensive player selected in the last three drafts; Watson in the seventh by the Chiefs in 2022, linebacker Daiyan Henley in the third round to Chargers last season and now Hicks.
 
This past season, Hicks earned All-Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention, his first career All-Pac-12 honor after finishing the regular season seventh in the league with 79 tackles along with six tackles-for-loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and one forced fumble. The redshirt-sophomore from Las Vegas recorded the Pac-12's fourth-best overall defensive grade among all defensive players, the nation's sixth-best coverage grade by a safety and best coverage grade among all Pac-12 defensive players. Hicks had an interception return for a touchdown in the season-opening win at Colorado State, made nine tackles and forced a fumble in the win over Wisconsin, made a career-high 12 tackles and blocked a field goal at UCLA, and recorded a sack and picked off a pass in the Apple Cup.
 
Hicks earned Freshman All-America honors in 2022 after appearing in all 13 games, starting the final 11 games and finished second on the team with 76 tackles, most among Pac-12 freshmen. Hicks also recorded one sack, one interception, six pass breakups and returned a fumble for touchdown.
 
In two seasons for the Cougars, Hicks appeared in 26 games, made 155 tackles, eight for loss, 3.5 sacks with three interceptions, 13 pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick. Hicks appeared in one game in 2021 and redshirted.