The biggest knock on Hicks is the position he plays, by its nature it's less impactful than an edge player. He's a really nice player, but I'd rather have the 10th best EDGE player than the 3rd best 5T. But I don't want to argue semantics, count Hicks if you would like, he's close to it if not already there. They're still missing 2 other play makers. And what I mean by play maker is someone that consistently creates turn overs and/or sacks the qb and/or has sideline to sideline ability to shut down the opposing team.
There are a lot of defenses that have three players. Our recent team history,
2010 had urlacher, peppers and Tillman.
2005-6 had urlacher, brown, and Harris (and that's not counting Briggs and Tillman or Vasher)
Currently the brocos, chiefs, Vikings, Seahawks all have at least 3 play makers.
Opinions will differ, and I'm not going to argue player for player, but I think the bears don't make enough impact plays on defense, (sacks and turn overs). Imagine the defense with a pass rusher that required a double team every play that got 12-15 sacks a year. Or a corner that shut down one side of the field. It would change the defense drastically, and until we get something like that, we aren't going to win games with defense alone. (Not that defense only should be the goal, but that's what elite defenses can do).
That's all I'm saying, I'm not knocking Hicks, just stating the fact that we don't have any elite players that scare you. Having the third best 5T isn't a whole lot better than having the 3rd best left guard in the league. Nice to have, but less impactful by nature.
Btw, I am aware JJ watt plays 5T, but that's what makes him special, he can dominate the pass game from the inside, that's very rare.
