Akiem Hicks

Why did the Patriots let him go too?

He was young and unpolished. He would have a very good game and be so-so in multiple games after then have a another good game. They gave up on him for draft picks and he eventually got the mentality to start producing more often

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IIRC, he was also part of the bad attitude locker room purge, but seems to have matured nicely.

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Pretty sure he had a falling out with the coaching staff mid season...

How long have you been a fan?

He flashed at times, but also disappeared a lot. He wasn't this good when he was here.

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I wouldn't say that. Inconsistent maybe, but I wouldn't say he wasn't good.

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Inconsistent means there was quite a bit of good and some not so good. That doesn't describe Hicks' time in NO at all.

Interesting read on the trade from 2015. I’m sure most of the blame is on the coaching staff at the time and I’d imagine that Junior Gallett (and his contract) were not good influences on him either. His trade was right before we fired Rob Ryan.


ESPN Article about trade of Hicks

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Dumping Akiem Hicks is a shame. A letdown. A major failure on someone’s part.

I don’t know exactly where the blame lies. On Hicks for wasting his massive potential. On the New Orleans Saints' coaches for failing to develop his rare physical talents. On the front office for not having enough patience or for not getting more in return than a solid but unspectacular tight end in New England Patriots veteran Michael Hoomanawanui.

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Don’t get me wrong. Hicks wasn’t playing particularly well the last two weeks – or the last two years, for that matter. And the production the Saints were actually getting out of him won’t be missed too much since he was already demoted behind undrafted rookie Bobby Richardson in the base defense.

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A more recent article more from Hicks point of view.
Chicago Sun Times

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Hicks’ playing time decreased sharply in the first three weeks of the 2015 season, but he didn’t want to be dealt. He said he didn’t ask to be.

But he felt he was miscast as an edge rusher in a defense whose bosses were in the midst of a power struggle.

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Six weeks after the trade, coordinator Rob Ryan was fired and replaced by assistant Dennis Allen. Ryan said later that Payton insisted they mimic the Seahawks’ schemes in 2014 and 2015. That pushed Hicks to the edges of the line rather than lining him up over guards or straight across from tackles in the 3-4.

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