Pro Football Focus released their top 50 Players of 2020 list, While Hicks missed most of the 2019 season, his impact during those five games he played was enough to garner him a spot just outside the top 50. Packers linebacker Za'Darius Smith was in with the near misses, as was Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks. July 30, 2019 9:37 am ET. Welcome to Bears Wire's European Union Experience. Odds are, it’s both. Both Dupree and Watt had solid seasons in 2019, but the same logic PFF applied to Quinn — that he had several rough seasons prior to 2019 — is also true of Dupree, and Watt is nowhere near as dominant or as proven as Mack. 36.0!?!? Both Akiem Hicks and Eddie Jackson made it onto the PFF list of those who just missed. Part of the issue was the absence of elite defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, the elite defensive lineman who had a PFF grade of 91.7 in 2018 before only appeared in five games last season because of an elbow injury. At least, that’s how they saw it last year.If anyone watched Kirk Cousins last year, nobody would have thought he played particularly well. He hadn’t finished a season with a grade higher than 70.0, performed poorly against the run and couldn't make a difference as a pass-rusher. The 2018 season was Akiem Hicks’ coming out party as the rest of the league finally saw just how dominant he is as an interior defender. We'll never pass along your email address to spammers, scammers, or the like.Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices.Powered by Minute Media © 2020 All Rights Reserved.How many RBs will be drafted by Chicago Bears pick? The Bears defense was a solid unit in 2019, but they certainly missed Hicks’ presence in the middle of that defensive line.There’s no denying that Jackson had the worst season of his three-year career in 2019, and even his worst was solid.
Hicks, who has been a solid player throughout his career, had a breakout season in … There are two things that are alarming there. PFF Elite. CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 18: Akiem Hicks #96 of the Chicago Bears celebrates while walking off the field after defeating the Minnesota Vikings 25-20 at Soldier Field on November 18, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Mack and Quinn were listed with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb of the Denver Broncos in the honorable mention category.There are some majorly formidable players listed there, but arguing that Quinn wasn’t exactly a game-wrecker in previous seasons and then placing the relatively unproven duo of T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree ahead of him and Mack is beyond questionable. NFL and PFF player stats for Chicago Bears DI Akiem Hicks on Pro Football Focus. Copyright © 2020 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. He has recorded at least Other duos PFF chose over Mack and Quinn include Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon of the Cleveland Browns, Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport of the New Orleans Saints, Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram II of the Los Angeles Chargers and T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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$199.99 / yr. $34.99 / mo. Learn More. The idea that Aaron Rodgers performed worse than Cousins outside of the pocket is hard to imagine.Am I going to go back and analyze the tape of every play last year? So just how good is the potential duo of Mack and Robert Quinn? Sign Up. The addition of free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix forced Jackson to strong safety, where he wasn’t able to make the kind of game-changing plays and takeaways that he’d managed in his first two seasons.The Bears expect big things from Hicks and Jackson heading into 2020. When explaining why they elected to place Mack and Quinn in the honorable mention category, PFF didn’t mention Hicks at all:“Mack remains a force along the defensive line. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)For the most part, athletes use social media to push their charity work, retweet some love from fans or some videos that include their highlight packages, or maybe they tweet out some very diplomatic comments about themselves or their team.But of course there are always exceptions, and one of them is the Chicago Bears’ Akiem Hicks.Hicks is a lot of fun on Twitter. Learn More.

Regardless, the laugh definitely comes at the expense of PFF and their grading system.Any objective football fan knows that Trubisky wasn’t a 36 out of 100 when he’s outside of the pocket, whether you are a Trubisky supporter or not, that’s embarrassingly low.Those same objective football fans know that Kirk Cousins is not the best QB in the NFC North when he’s outside of the pocket.PFF claims their grades are objective looks at performance, but time and time again we see that they have narratives that they want to push about certain players. Out of 100?

Maybe in a few years, but not yet.Perhaps being overlooked and disrespected will only make the Monsters of the Midway more monstrous. Contact: alyssaabarbieri@gmail.com
When we last saw Hicks fully healthy, he was able to generate eight sacks and 42 solo tackles from the defensive interior. This site is neither endorsed, nor sponsored by, nor affiliated with Chicago Bears or NFL Properties LLC. Sign Up.

Akiem Hicks returns in 2020 having missed most of last season due to injury.