Broncos roster review: Cornerback Faion Hicks

As a rookie in 2022, cornerback Faion Hicks was a seventh-round pick for the Denver Broncos and missed making the 53-man roster when preseason came to a close.

But the practice squad player did get called up near the end of the season for two games, though his appearance was solely on special teams.

Player Profile

Height: 5-foot-10 | Weight: 192 pounds

Experience: Second season | Age: 25 years old

It’s a crowded DB room in Denver, but beyond starters, there are a lot of question marks on which players will fill in.

If the former Wisconsin Badger can build off his two games last season, have a great training camp and show a big learning curve jump from year one to year two, Hicks could find himself a spot on the team - or more likely a spot on the practice squad again.

Unfortunately for Hicks, who will be fighting to stay on this team one way or another, the second-year cornerback has some off-the-court issues to worry about too.

The 25-year-old Miami native was arrested in May for three charges stemming from a traffic stop in Florida. The most serious charge was for carrying a concealed weapon, which is a third-degree felony in the state.

According to Mike Klis of 9 News, Hicks was pulled over by police after he “disobeyed a stop sign.” In addition to the firearm charge and traffic violation, court records showed that Hicks had an expired driver’s license.

2023 outlook for Broncos cornerback Faion Hicks

Hicks needs to get his house in order and take care of his legal troubles and focus on getting better at football. Hopefully the incident in Florida woke him up to the reality of being a back-of-the-roster player - there are no free rides.

The odds are long but aside from Patrick Surtain and K’Wuan Williams, the order for the rest of the defensive backs is anyone’s guess and any player’s spot to take.

Heading into last year’s draft, Owen Riese of Bucky’s 5th Quarter noted that special teams was Hicks’ best chance to lock on to an NFL team. Riese called Hicks “a big-time athlete” and said an NFL team will want to “take a chance on him” as a developmental corner because of his speed and agility. But his small size would be the limiting factor.

Broncos took that chance, and this year we’ll see if it was worth the pick.

Final Thoughts

Hicks has a pretty tough road to the roster, but a strong training camp for the young player can go a long way - especially for a defensive coordinator who loves his DBs and a head coach who doesn’t really care if you were a blue chip first-rounder or a seventh-rounder whose only experience is the practice squad.