Chip Kelly The GM’s Five Best Moves
By Tim Kelly
Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Jordan Hicks (58) in a game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 27-7. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
2. Drafting Jordan Hicks in the Third-Round
When Chip Kelly and Ed Marynowitz drafted Hicks in the third-round of their first draft together, it brought out a chorus of fans and pundits that suggested that Kelly was overmatched in having player personnel control.
Frankly, at the time it seemed that the Hicks pick swayed the draft from having a very positive outlook after the selections of Nelson Agholor and Eric Rowe, into a more cloudy feeling.
Instead, it looks as though Hicks and Minnesota Vikings’ rookie Stefon Diggs were the best value picks in the entire draft.
Through the first eight games of his career, Hicks recorded 50 total tackles, forced a fumble, recovered three fumbles, and had two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in a game-changing play.
Unfortunately, the knock on Hicks coming out of college was his injury history, and he suffered a torn pectoral in the aforementioned win over the Cowboys, which ended his season and thwarted what was becoming a defensive rookie of the year campaign.
Still, Kelly looks to have hit a homerun on the Hicks pick, a move that wasn’t considered a good one when it was made.
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