Denver Broncos select Flanagan High alum Faion Hicks in seventh round of NFL Draft
Faion Hicks made his mark in Flanagan High School football lore with his fourth-quarter touchdown run to help the Falcons clinch the 2015 Class 8A state title as a junior.
Fast forward six and a half years and a full college career with the Wisconsin Badgers, and Hicks finds himself in the NFL.
The Denver Broncos drafted Hicks with the 11th pick in the seventh round, No. 232 overall, on Saturday.
Hicks, who moved exclusively to defense in college after being a two-way player in high school, played 44 games for Wisconsin. He finished with 108 tackles, one interception and 19 defended passes. He recorded 10 of those 19 defended passes in his senior season.
NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein described Hicks as a “feisty perimeter cornerback who might need to prove he can slide inside and play nickel back in the NFL.”
“Hicks is a much more effective press-man corner with his ability to match the release, phase the route and make plays on the football when he’s in position,” Zierlein’s analysis continued. “He struggles as a pattern-reader from off-man and gets turned around by average route-runners. He’s naturally aggressive as a ball-challenger and will crash a heavy shoulder into a ball-carrier but lacks consistency as a wrap-up run finisher.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2022 at 6:12 PM.
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