BOURBONNAIS — Akiem Hicks has a gifted skillset, a healthy ego, an innate drive to succeed and a great memory. So it’s no surprise that some biting commentary from Saints linebackers coach Joe Vitt in Hicks’ early years in the NFL particularly resonated with Hicks, and stuck with him.
“He said, ‘I’ve never seen a player get paid more and play better,’” said Hicks, who was a third-round draft pick by the Saints in 2012. “And I remembered that. I remember sitting in the meeting that day — my first or second year [in the NFL] — and he said that and I was like, ‘Man, that makes sense.’ So when I got to the point where I was getting extended, I told myself and I told [GM Ryan] Pace, ‘I’m going to prove him wrong.’”
Hicks’ ability to do that has become his defining trait — a talented player in the right place at the right time with powers of self-motivation to keep raising his own bar. After an impressive debut season with the Bears in 2016, Hicks signed a four-year, $48 million extension — and was even better in 2017, with 8 1/2 sacks and 15 tackles-for-loss. Miffed at being overlooked for Pro Bowl status that year, he was even better again last season, with numbers — 7 1/2 sacks, 12 tackles-for-loss, three forced fumbles, five pass breakups — that still don’t illustrate how Hicks influences almost every play he’s on the field for.
So here he is again, battling human nature and finding the motivation to take his game to another level after finally gaining the recognition he has craved. Hicks was named to the Pro Bowl after last season. On Sunday he was ranked 39th in NFL Network’s list of the top 100 players in the NFL.
“It’s huge to me. It’s special,” Hicks said. “I care about it. It means something to me. I read my articles. But what I’ll say is this: You can’t let that nature change the person. You’ve got to still say, ‘Man, I’m going to get up and I’m going to still kick ass again today.’”
Even Hicks knows that is easier said than done. “You have to fight your nature — the nature that says, ‘Oh, man, I’ve achieved this. I’ve achieved that — now I can sit still,” he said.
But he finds a way. “You’ve got to keep telling yourself,” Hicks said. “Like [Sunday] night I sat down for 10-15 minutes and I was like, ‘Thank God for being so blessed and being in the position I’m in and the things I dreamed about as a young man coming to fruition — and still saying to myself, ‘Man, it would be a disservice to myself if I did not continue to keep reaching.”
Much of Hicks’ motivation comes from within. “If you don’t love yourself, nobody else will,” he said with a smile.
But at the same time, Hicks has one of the healthiest egos on the team. Where Brandon Marshall seemed to bristle at being one-upped by Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett lost his charm as Zach Miller emerged, Hicks thrived in the shadow of Khalil Mack last year. Hicks acknowledges that being in the right spot in Vic Fangio’s defense has played a key role in his success. And he knows he’s not doing it alone.
“I look at it this way sometimes,” Hicks said. “I just rode in on the cart [to a post-practice interview] with Mack and Eddie [Jackson] and Danny [Trevathan] and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Man, I’ve got nothing but [guts] around me.’ So it’s easy to look good, right? If you play to your potential and you’ve got guys who are playing so well next to you, you can really take over.”
