2022 NFL Draft: CB Faion Hicks picked by Denver Broncos in seventh round

The Denver Broncos are going to be the home of yet another former Wisconsin Badgers football star. With pick No. 232 in the seventh round, the Broncos selected CB Faion Hicks, a multi-year starter for UW.

Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 189 pounds, the native of Miami had 28 tackles and a team-high nine pass breakups in 11 starts during his senior season in 2021. Hicks was named honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2021 and 2020.

Our Owen Riese said before the draft:

Summary: Hicks is a big time athlete that a team will want to take a chance on as a developmental cover corner. His size will limit him for some teams to the inside, but projects best as a perimeter corner. His speed and lateral agility (both were very impressive at pro day) will draw attention from teams, but he’ll need to be a stud on special teams to justify teams keeping him around as a developmental corner.

As Riese notes above, and old pal Jake Kocorowski notes below, Hicks had a standout performance at Wisconsin’s Pro Day. His 4.37 40-yard dash and 37.5-inch vertical jump surely turned some heads in NFL front offices.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says:

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. 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.

Hicks is the second Badger that Denver has picked today (picked DL Matt Henningsen in the sixth round) and the fourth Badger overall on their roster, joining RB Melvin Gordon and QB Russell Wilson.