Philadelphia Sports: Section 215 top 25 Philadelphia athletes revealed
By Chuck Booth
Number eight: Jordan Hicks – Linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles
Jordan “Simba” Hicks comes in seventh on the list, which is a great position for him (there’s a chance I may have voted for him, I dunno, first or something) overall. Let’s snag that fancy-dancy chart that football players get and other sports don’t.
I mean, there’s nothing not to love here, but I want to show you something else that’s rad. I knew Hicks was an athlete, but when I scrolled to MockDraftable’s comparisons…
Sheesh.
Not only is Simba’s predecessor and Philly favorite DeMeco “Mufasa” Ryans on that list, but Clay Matthews and Ryan Shazier are his 1st and 3rd most comparable?! Can you honestly tell me, when you think of Jordan Hicks, you think “Yeah, he’s basically as athletic as Clay Matthews and Ryan Shazier”? Cause I’m as big of a Jordan Hicks truther as they come, and I sure didn’t realize in what elite of company he really was.
When you watch Hicks’ film, you see an instinctive, rangy player. His mental game has drastically improved since his time as a Longhorn, but the physical tools that we saw in Texas transferred to Philly. He’s fast to flow sideline-to-sideline and regularly blows up plays by undercutting angle blocks that would have been successful on a less agile ‘backer. He can carry running backs and tight ends into space and has the closing speed to secure open-field tackles.
Most underrated aspect of Hicks’ athleticism? The explosiveness in his thick lower body allows him to stack-and-shed real nicely. I love the way he plays off of the block and still impedes the path of the runner. That’s a sign of an attentive, disciplined, and physical beast.
Hicks was a Pro Bowl snub this year by anyone’s evaluation—by mine, him receiving no All-Pro votes is downright disrespectful. If the national fan base and media start seeing what Philadelphia sports fans have watched and enjoyed for all of Hicks’ young career, those storylines will start changing.