The Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up for a huge 2026 season following their seriously underwhelming campaign last year.
Although there were a number of factors playing into the disappointing 6-11 record last year, Andy Reid will be eyeing a bounce back season in Kansas City .
Considerable changes have been seen over the offseason with the Chiefs, as star cornerback Trent McDuffie was traded away to the Los Angeles Rams .
However, there is another defensive back who has been impressing Steve Spagnuolo following the opening preseason game of the summer.
Safety Jaden Hicks has now received the approval of the defensive coordinator in Kansas City.
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Hicks made three interceptions in his rookie 2024 season, but failed to snag a single pick last year as the Chiefs struggled in all aspects of the field.
However, this offseason has been a positive one for Hicks, who played during the first preseason game of the summer against the Rams.
"Yeah, it was good to see. I think Jaden probably stuck out as the one who played the best in that particular game," Spagnuolo told the media on Wednesday.
"He had a really good day here on Monday. He and I were just talking – he was a little down yesterday [Tuesday], but then today [Wednesday] he made a big play in the red zone and came up with the interception.
During the game against the Rams, Hicks made five total tackles and has clearly been impressing behind the scenes in practice.
"He has kind of been on that trajectory, and he should be; he's been in the system for a while now. I put a little bit more pressure on those kinds of guys because I expect them to know more and not make the mistakes that maybe a rookie would make."
Having lost influential cornerback McDuffie, Spagnuolo is going to be looking at players like Hicks to really take a step in the right direction this season.
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