Ronnie Hickman: The Undrafted Safety Who Earned Every Inch
Quick Bio
| Detail | Info |
| Full Name | Ronnie Hickman Jr. |
| Born | October 11, 2001, Manhattan, New York, USA |
| Age | 24 (as of 2026) |
| Raised | South Orange, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American |
| Height / Weight | 6 ft 1 in / 209 lbs |
| Position | Free Safety |
| Team | Cleveland Browns (#33) |
| Nickname | “Rocket” |
| High School | DePaul Catholic High School, Wayne, New Jersey |
| College | Ohio State University (2019–2022) |
| Degree | B.S., Human Development and Family Sciences, Ohio State (Dec. 2022) |
| NFL Entry | Undrafted free agent, signed May 12, 2023 |
| Career NFL Stats | 173+ tackles; 3 INTs; 1 defensive TD; 11 pass deflections |
| Awards | 2nd-team All-Big Ten (2021); 2nd-team All-American AP (2022) |
| Estimated Net Worth | $1–2 million (based on contract value and career earnings) |
Introduction: The Story Nobody Expected
When the 2023 NFL Draft concluded and Ronnie Hickman’s name had not been called, it was one of those moments that football scouts still argue about. He had been projected by several outlets as a mid-round pick. He was an All-American at one of the most prominent programs in college football. He had four years of starting-caliber development behind him. He was the kind of player who was supposed to hear his name over a weekend in Kansas City.
It did not happen. And what came next is the more interesting story.
Instead of letting the draft disappointment define him, Hickman signed with the Cleveland Browns three weeks later as an undrafted free agent, reported to training camp, and competed for a roster spot against players who had draft capital behind them. By the time the regular season began, he was one of only two undrafted players on Cleveland’s initial 53-man roster. He ended his rookie year by returning an interception 30 yards for a touchdown on national television.
That is the story of Ronnie Hickman. Not the smooth trajectory from blue-chip prospect to guaranteed draft pick, but the messier and more instructive version — the one with an ACL tear in high school, a redshirt year, coaching staff turnover, draft-night silence, and then a methodical, professional response to all of it. His nickname is “Rocket,” and his father gave it to him as a child for his tenacity. It fits him in more ways than one.
See also “Darryn Peterson: The Canton Kid Who Went Second Overall“
Early Life: Manhattan Born, New Jersey Made
Ronnie Hickman Jr. entered the world on October 11, 2001, in Manhattan, New York — but it was across the Hudson River in South Orange, New Jersey where he actually grew up. South Orange is a small, diverse Essex County township with a strong sense of community identity, and it was there that the qualities his father would eventually nickname for him — the relentless energy, the fearlessness, the refusal to be physically outmatched — began taking shape.
The “Rocket” nickname itself is worth understanding properly. His father gave it to him when he was a young child, observing the way Ronnie moved through the world — fast, direct, and undeterred by whatever was in front of him. Nicknames given by parents to small children tend to capture something real, and in Hickman’s case, the name proved accurate enough to follow him all the way to the NFL.
New Jersey produced the athlete in ways that went beyond football. Hickman was skilled enough in lacrosse to attract Division I scholarship offers from schools interested in him for that sport — a level of multi-sport ability that speaks to genuine athletic talent rather than specialization for its own sake. He initially committed to Rutgers to play lacrosse early in his high school years before his football recruiting profile exploded. Being recruited for two different sports at the college level is not something that happens to many athletes. It speaks to the kind of natural athleticism that coaches at every level learn to identify quickly.
High School: DePaul Catholic and the Injury That Could Have Changed Everything
When Hickman enrolled at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, New Jersey, he walked into one of the more competitive football programs in the state. He played on both sides of the ball — lining up as a wide receiver on offense and as a safety on defense — and eventually generated serious recruiting attention in both capacities.
By his junior year, the offers were arriving from major programs. He committed to Ohio State in April 2018 — choosing the Buckeyes over Boston College, Florida, Michigan, and a list of other programs that most prospects would have considered seriously. Getting a four-star prospect from New Jersey to choose Columbus over that field is an accomplishment in itself.
What happened in October 2018 forced everything to slow down. Hickman tore the ACL in his right knee during the fall of his senior season, ending his high school playing career before it could reach its intended conclusion. He had already been presented with his All-American Bowl jersey. He had already been selected to play in that game. The injury took both away from him.
His senior statistics before the injury, in a truncated season, still showed his range: 609 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on offense, alongside 19 tackles and five pass breakups on defense. He returned a punt for a touchdown. He was operating as a genuine two-way asset at the prep level, which is exactly what college scouts want to see in a prospect they are projecting to the next level.
The ACL tear was the first real test of what Hickman was made of. He still enrolled at Ohio State in January 2019, rehabbing through the spring semester with a fresh knee brace and a determination to get back on the field as quickly as safely possible.
Ohio State: Four Years of Development
Arriving at Ohio State in January 2019 was already unusual — most recruits enroll in the fall semester. But Hickman came in early, which meant starting his rehabilitation, beginning his academic adjustment to a campus of 60,000 students, and dealing immediately with unexpected news: head coach Urban Meyer had retired, and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano — the coach who had primarily recruited Hickman — was leaving the program.
His response to losing the coaches who brought him was telling. He was disappointed. He said so publicly, with appropriate honesty. And then he said that he had committed to the school, not any single coach, and he intended to honor that commitment. He did.
He spent 2019 as a redshirt, spending the year building back physically and getting his knee right. By 2020, he was healthy but the season was shortened by the pandemic — he appeared in just three games before getting banged up again, missing five additional contests. His path to meaningful playing time kept getting interrupted.
The 2021 season changed everything. Under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, Ohio State deployed Hickman in a hybrid role that the staff called the “Bullet” position — a cross between a linebacker and a safety that required intelligence in addition to athleticism. He responded with 99 tackles in 13 games, making him one of the more productive defensive players in the conference that season. He earned Second-Team All-Big Ten recognition and established himself as a genuine impact player rather than a depth piece.
His senior year in 2022 refined what 2021 had built. He shifted back toward a more traditional safety role, posting 53 tackles with an interception and seven pass breakups — a more controlled statistical line that reflected a player who had learned when to attack and when to read, rather than simply going after everything. He earned Second-Team All-American honors from the Associated Press — the kind of national recognition that puts a name in front of NFL decision-makers. He also graduated with a degree in Human Development and Family Sciences in December 2022.
The combination of All-American recognition and a completed degree at one of the country’s major programs should have positioned him well for the draft.
Draft Night: The Silence and What Came After
The 2023 NFL Draft ran for seven rounds across three days in Kansas City. Most projections had Hickman going somewhere in the fourth through sixth round range. Some had him earlier.
He was not selected.
The reasons scouts cited varied: questions about his burst in coverage, his tackling efficiency, how his skillset translated from the college game. None of it made the silence on draft night easier to absorb.
Three weeks later, on May 12, 2023, he signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. He chose Cleveland in part because of the existing Ohio State presence in the organization — safety Denzel Ward, linebacker connections, familiar faces who understood what playing in Columbus meant and what it demanded.
Training camp was an evaluation, not a guarantee. Undrafted players have to earn their spots from zero. By the time final roster cuts arrived, Hickman had beaten the odds: he was one of only two undrafted players to make Cleveland’s initial 53-man roster that season. The other was linebacker Mohamoud Diabate.
Making His Mark: Rookie Season and Beyond
The 2023 season put Hickman into a backup role initially — which, for an undrafted rookie, was the expected reality. He appeared in ten games with four starts and was building toward something.
The moment that defined his rookie year arrived on December 28, 2023, against the New York Jets. He intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown — his first career interception, his first career defensive score, and a nationally visible moment that announced his presence to an audience beyond Cleveland’s immediate fanbase.
He finished the regular season as part of a defense that helped push the Browns into the playoffs — the franchise’s best stretch of football in years. For a player who had gone undrafted, making substantive contributions to a playoff team in year one was a genuinely strong outcome.
His 2024 season saw significantly expanded responsibility. He logged 463 defensive snaps across 14 appearances with five starts — nearly 50 percent more than his rookie year. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz trusted him with more, rotating him alongside Grant Delpit, Juan Thornhill, and Rodney McLeod in a secondary that needed versatile contributors.
His 2025 season delivered meaningful production: he earned a 69.8 overall PFF defensive grade, ranking 28th among 98 qualified safeties. His coverage grade of 72.7 ranked 18th — a strong number that placed him in the top tier of the position in that specific evaluative dimension. He recorded two more interceptions and broke up four passes in coverage.
Personal Life: Private and Grounded
Ronnie Hickman keeps his personal life genuinely private. He has not made relationships or family matters part of his public persona. He is not a prominent social media presence in the way that many players his age choose to be.
What is visible: he has spoken warmly about his father, who gave him his nickname and whose influence on his mentality is evident in how he talks about resilience and preparation. His decision to major in Human Development and Family Sciences — and to complete that degree before leaving Ohio State — suggests someone who takes education seriously as more than an obligation.
He has been active in Cleveland’s community, participating in player engagement events that are part of life as an NFL player in a city that takes its connection to its teams seriously.
One noted incident: reports in 2025 indicated that Hickman was assaulted at a hotel in New York, a concerning situation that generated brief attention before the story moved on. He was not seriously injured and continued his season normally.
Financial Situation: Earned Through Performance
Ronnie Hickman’s financial picture is the picture of a young NFL player who entered the league without guaranteed draft money and has built his compensation through demonstrated performance.
Undrafted free agents sign minimum-scale contracts in their first season. By the time second and third seasons arrive, performance creates leverage. Through his first four NFL seasons, Hickman’s total career earnings have grown steadily alongside his role.
His estimated net worth sits between $1 million and $2 million as of 2026 — a figure reflecting his accumulated NFL salaries, his completed college education (which means no student debt burden), and the financial management that comes with understanding that NFL careers have finite timelines. He is 24 years old. His earning potential continues to grow.
Life Today: Entering Year Four as a Starter
As of September 2026, Ronnie Hickman is entering his fourth season with the Cleveland Browns as the team’s starting free safety. His contract situation as of early 2026 was being monitored closely — he was approaching the end of his initial deal, and the Browns’ front office decisions about the position heading into the draft and free agency period carried implications for his long-term standing in Cleveland.
He has grown from a coverage piece in rotation to a genuine starter who posts rankings in the upper quarter of the league’s safeties by coverage grade. That growth is not accidental. It is the product of the same approach that got him onto the roster in the first place: the willingness to compete rather than assume, to evaluate his own game honestly, and to make the adjustments that coaches request rather than resisting change.
His PFF grade of 69.8 overall gives him room to improve. His coverage grade of 72.7 gives him a genuine strength to build from. At 24, he is squarely in the developmental window where safety play tends to mature and consolidate.
Final Words
Ronnie Hickman’s story carries a particular lesson that is worth stating plainly: the draft is not the game. The draft is a prediction market, and prediction markets are wrong regularly. What the draft does not measure is what a player does on the morning after he goes undrafted — whether he signs with a team, competes without complaint, and makes the adjustments that a new level of football demands.
Hickman signed. He competed. He made the adjustments. And now, four seasons in, he is a starting safety for an NFL franchise with a coverage grade that ranks in the top 20 at his position.
The “Rocket” nickname was earned before he could read. The professional standing he holds was earned in a more difficult and more visible way — against players who were drafted ahead of him, in a league that gives nobody anything for free, with an audience that would have forgotten his name immediately if his play hadn’t made remembering it worthwhile.
That is the complete picture of Ronnie Hickman. Not the prospect he was supposed to be. The player he actually became.
FAQs
1. Who is Ronnie Hickman?
Ronnie Hickman Jr. is a professional NFL safety born October 11, 2001, in Manhattan, New York, who grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. He attended DePaul Catholic High School, played college football at Ohio State, and signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in May 2023. He wears jersey number 33 and plays free safety. His career through 2025 includes 173 tackles, three interceptions, and one defensive touchdown.
2. Why is Ronnie Hickman called “Rocket”?
His father gave him the nickname when he was a small child, observing his speed, fearlessness, and relentless energy — the way he moved through the world fast and without hesitation. The nickname stuck through high school, Ohio State, and into his professional career, where teammates and coaches continue to use it.
3. Why was Ronnie Hickman not drafted in 2023?
Despite earning Second-Team All-American honors at Ohio State in 2022, Hickman was not selected in any round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Scouts raised questions about his burst in coverage and certain technical aspects of his game. He signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023.
4. What other sport was Ronnie Hickman recruited for?
Beyond football, he received Division I scholarship offers to play lacrosse — a sport he was skilled enough in to attract serious college-level attention. Early in high school he committed to Rutgers to play lacrosse before his football recruiting profile developed and overtook that path.
5. What injury did Ronnie Hickman suffer in high school?
He tore the ACL in his right knee during his senior season at DePaul Catholic in October 2018, ending his high school career before its conclusion. The injury cost him his spot in the All-American Bowl and required rehabilitation throughout the winter and spring before he enrolled at Ohio State.
6. What academic degree did Ronnie Hickman earn at Ohio State?
He completed a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences from Ohio State, graduating in December 2022 — the same month he completed his final college football season. He enrolled early (January 2019) and finished his degree before entering the NFL.
7. What is the “Bullet” position that Hickman played at Ohio State?
The Bullet was a hybrid position deployed by Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles — a cross between a linebacker and a safety that required the player to move fluidly between defending the run near the line of scrimmage and dropping into coverage. Hickman’s athleticism and football intelligence made him ideally suited for the role, which he excelled in during his 2021 season.
8. What was Ronnie Hickman’s most memorable NFL moment?
His December 28, 2023 interception return for a touchdown against the New York Jets stands as the most visible moment of his NFL career so far. The play — his first career interception and first career defensive score — was nationally broadcast and marked him as a player to watch heading into his second season.
9. What is Ronnie Hickman’s PFF grade and what does it mean?
In the 2025 season, Pro Football Focus awarded Hickman an overall defensive grade of 69.8, ranking him 28th among 98 qualified safeties. His coverage grade of 72.7 ranked 18th at the position. PFF grades evaluate every play of every game and are one of the more respected granular measures of individual defensive performance in the analytics community.
10. Is Ronnie Hickman a starter for the Cleveland Browns?
Yes. Entering his fourth NFL season in 2026, Hickman is the team’s starting free safety. His role has expanded each year since his arrival in 2023 — from a rotational piece in year one to a full-time starter with increasing defensive snap counts by years three and four.
11. What is Ronnie Hickman’s estimated net worth?
His net worth is estimated at between $1 million and $2 million as of 2026, reflecting accumulated NFL salaries across four seasons. He entered the league without draft signing bonus money and has built his compensation through continued performance and roster value. At 24, his earning window is still open.
12. Was Ronnie Hickman involved in any incidents during his NFL career?
Reports in 2025 noted that Hickman was assaulted at a hotel in New York — an incident that generated brief media attention. He was not seriously injured and continued playing normally. No charges were reported against him and he was not the aggressor in the situation.
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