Player
Ronnie Hickman Jr.
S · Browns
Ronnie Hickman Jr.: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
First career interception went 30 yards for a touchdown — Week 17 of his rookie year.
MilestoneHickman went undrafted out of Ohio State in 2023 and signed with Cleveland. His first career snap of consequence came late in his rookie year — and his first NFL interception went 30 yards for a pick-six against Trevor Siemian (NYJ) in Week 17 of 2023.
That's the rookie debut play of dreams: a UDFA safety, late-season minutes, takes a Siemian throw to the house. He hasn't equaled the moment since, but the start was perfect.
15 → 26 → 51 tackles across his first three NFL seasons.
TrendHickman by season (regular season)
| Season | Team | Tackles | PDs | INTs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | CLE | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | CLE | 26 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | CLE | 51 | 7 | 2 |
The classic UDFA-DB arc: tackle count nearly doubles every year. By 2025, Hickman was a 51-tackle, 7-PD, 2-INT starter — legitimate regular-defense playing time, not just specialist work.
His 2025 season has been the breakout: 7 PDs (more than his first two years combined) and 2 picks already match his career line through year 2.
Tackles per season
| Season | Tackles |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 15 |
| 2024 | 26 |
| 2025 | 51 |
3 career INTs — one was a pick-six, the other two went for 31 return yards combined.
RareHickman career interceptions
| Year | Week | QB victim | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 17 | T.Siemian (NYJ) | 30 yds, TD |
| 2025 | 7 | T.Tagovailoa (MIA) | 16 yds |
| 2025 | 10 | J.Fields (NYJ) | 15 yds |
Hickman's career picks are return-yards machines: 3 INTs, 61 return yards, 1 TD — a per-pick average of 20.3 yards. He's a safety who plays the ball downhill and turns picks into field position swings.
The Tagovailoa pick was a deep-middle throw to Tyreek Hill's old replacement Tanner Conner — Hickman read the post route and broke on it for a 16-yard return.
4 PDs in his last 2 games of 2025 — a closing kick to the breakout season.
SplitHickman late-2025 surge
| Week | Tackles | PDs |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | 3 | 1 |
| 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | 5 | 2 |
In a Browns season that ended at 18 weeks (no playoffs), Hickman's final game (Week 18) was his highest PD output of the year: 5 tackles and 2 PDs. He finished the year on a 3-game stretch of 7 tackles and 3 PDs.
For a player playing for a 2026 roster spot, that closing kick is the tape that matters.
92 career tackles, but only 1 career sack — a textbook deep safety, not a hybrid.
AnomalyHickman career line
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Seasons | 3 (all CLE) |
| Tackles | 92 |
| PDs | 11 |
| INTs | 3 |
| FFs | 0 |
| Sacks | 0 |
| QB hits | 1 |
Hickman's career profile is pure rangy safety — no sacks, only one career QB hit, zero forced fumbles. He's hired to be the deep-middle eraser, and the box score reflects it: 11 PDs, 3 INTs for a player who's never logged a sack.
For a UDFA back-end safety to outlast the typical 2-year window and become a 3rd-year starter on a defensive-minded staff (Schwartz's Cleveland D) is the survival story. The breakout 2025 line says he might be a 4-year piece.
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