New York Giants host Jaden Hicks on top-30 visit

The New York Giants will wrap up their top-30 visits on Wednesday and one of the final prospects to make a pitstop in East Rutherford will be Washington State safety Jaden Hicks.

Hicks is widely considered the best safety available in the 2024 NFL draft.

Digging into the Giants’ pre-draft “30” visits, and here’s one I don’t think has been out there: Washington State safety Jaden Hicks, per source.

He’s the top safety and No. 39 player in @dpbrugler‘s rankings. Giants could possibly replace Xavier McKinney with another early…

— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) April 16, 2024

After losing Julian Love and Xavier McKinney in back-to-back years, the Giants have a need in their secondary and Hicks would be a nice option if he fell to them in Round 2.

Another option would be trading down in the first round, but it’s unlikely general manager Joe Schoen would do that given his perceived value of safeties.

NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein views Hicks as a boom-or-bust player while on the field.

He’s aggressive as a run-and-hit striker but doesn’t get as many squared-up, run-through tackles as expected. He plays in the box as an add-on run defender, but he might be a better cover man. Hicks is a straight-line mover and will have his issues when asked to flow with big bending route breaks — however, he plays with good instincts, has impressive ball skills and can line up over pass-catching tight ends. There are qualities to his game that could make him a feast-or-famine safety, but ultimately, he has the traits and upside to bet on in the middle rounds.

The Giants also previously met with Hicks at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.