BIOGRAPHY
Akiem Hicks was born on November 16th, 1989, in Elk Grove, California. He is a defensive tackle in the NFL.
Hicks attended Del Campo High School in Fairoaks, California before beginning his college career at Sacramento City College. After his 2008 season, he was rated as a top junior college player and gained interest from LSU. He was not able to attend LSU or any American college program and went to work for DirecTV in Colorado while planning his next move.
He received an offer from the Totornot Argonauts of the Canadian Football League but decided to further his education and a college football career at Regina in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association. After his first season, he was drafted by the Omaha Knights of the United Football League but decided to remain at Regina. He logged 42 tackles with six and a half sacks and went on to become CWUAA's top-rated lineman. A strong performance in the East-West Shrine Game landed him on NFL scout's radar.
Akiem Hicks was selected in the third round with the 89th pick by the New Orleans Saints in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Saints drafted hicks with their first pick of the draft that year. Hicks became the ninth Canadian Interuniversity Sport player to be selected in the NFL Draft and second-highest pick in CIS History. As a rookie in 2012, Hicks played 14 games making 20 tackles, a pass defended, and a forced fumble. In his second year, he played in 14 games and logged 56 tackles. Since arriving in the league in 2012, Hicks played four seasons with the Saints, one with the Patriots and three seasons with the Chicago Bears. He has totaled 303 combined tackles, 191 of which were solo, and 32.5 sacks. 23 of the 32.5 sacks were recorded in his last three seasons with the Chicago Bears. Hicks is part of a dynamic defense in Chicago and a leader on their defensive front. The Chicago Bears defense, with Hicks and Mack leading the way, will look to contend for the NFC North and beyond in 2019.
In May of 2022, Akiem Hicks signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
