Jordan Hicks continues historic start to career with 2 INTs vs. Cowboys

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Malcolm Jenkins flashed a huge smile and chuckled some as soon as the question was posed to him in the Eagles’ locker room, following Sunday’s 27-13 win over the Cowboys at the Linc (see story)

Just how much potential does Jordan Hicks have left? 

“S---. I mean, from where I see it, he’s trending to be one of the better linebackers in this league,” Jenkins answered. 

“And there’s a lot of good linebackers out there. But you look at the stats and the way he plays, you can compare him to anybody else.” 

Hicks, 24, finished his second NFL season on Sunday, and he did it making the types of plays he’s already become known for in his young NFL career. He intercepted two more passes, giving him five for the season. He led the 2016 Eagles; no other player had more than three.  

Hicks, the third-round pick from a year ago, now has seven interceptions through his first 24 games in the league. 

“It’s been amazing, man. It’s been amazing,” first-year teammate Nigel Bradham said. “You see it on tape, man. Every time he catches one of them, you can see me acting like I caught it. It’s amazing man. The things he’s able to do in the pass game, it’s just unique because a lot of guys can’t do that.” 

Both of Hicks’ interceptions on Sunday came in the second quarter on passes from former teammate Mark Sanchez, the Cowboys' third-string quarterback. His second interception gave the Eagles a short field and helped them score a touchdown before the end of the first half in the eventual win (see 10 observations)

“Sometimes the ball comes your way, sometimes you know it’s coming,” Hicks said. “I know Mark well. Mark threw me a couple. I obviously said thank you after the game. We’re good buds.”

Through two seasons, Hicks has seven interceptions, four fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He's just the fifth player in NFL history to put up those numbers in the first two seasons of his career and the only linebacker to do so. 

Hicks is also the first Eagle to have seven or more interceptions in his first two seasons since Eric Allen in the late 80s. He's just the fifth linebacker in NFL history to have seven-plus interceptions through two seasons and the first since Al Richardson in the early '80s. 

So through two seasons, Hicks hasn't just been good; he's been putting up numbers we haven’t seen in decades. 

And he still thinks there’s room for growth. 

“There’s always room for improvement,” Hicks said. “No matter where you’re at, no matter what you’ve done, there’s always room for improvement. I think in the pass game, I’ve done well this year. I think my next goal is to get a little bit bigger, get a little bit stronger. My pec kind of set me back a bit. But moving forward, I have a great opportunity to do that and be more physical in the run.”

The pec injury Hicks suffered in the eighth game of the season last year, ended his incredible rookie season early and it continued a troubling trend. While in college at Texas, Hicks was labeled as an injury-prone player after two of his seasons ended injuries to his hip and Achilles. 

Hicks aimed to shake that label in 2016 and achieved his goal. 

Not only did he start all 16 games this season, but Hicks also ended up playing over 95 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps this season. He said it “absolutely” felt good to play a full year. 

“Kind of quiet that noise up,” Hicks said. “I believed in myself. I know the coaches believed in me. A lot of the injuries that I’ve had have been, in my opinion, fluke injuries. Obviously, they happened over and over again. I made changes. I talked to you guys at the very beginning of the season, telling you guys I’m taking this super serious and I’m going to take care of my body this season and I did. Obviously, it paid off.”

Hicks played nearly every snap this year next to free agent pickup Bradham, who signed a two-year deal this past offseason. Hicks still has two more years left on his rookie contract. That means the duo — made of a 24-year-old and 27-year-old — will be together for at least more season. 

But Bradham hopes it’ll be longer than that. 

“We definitely see ourselves building a great tandem as a linebacking corps,” Bradham said, “working together and pretty much just really reading off each other’s chemistry and instincts, just grow as linebackers and continue to push each other. It’s really been solid, man, to be able to build a bond. And just gel from Day 1.”

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