Jordan Hicks made a significant impact in his first season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. While Vikings fans are excited about what he can bring in his second season in Minnesota, Hicks’ production could reach new heights in Brian Flores’ defense.

Flores was the biggest hire of the offseason when it comes to assistant coaches. His blitz-happy aggressive defensive scheme has the Vikings’ front seven licking their chops.

Hicks, who is on his third team in nine seasons, has played for a handful of defensive coordinators. With that being said, Hicks seems giddy over the thought of playing in Flores’ new system.

“I love it,” Hicks said on Tuesday. “The aggressiveness, the ability to come in with a mindset of you know, we're going to be a tough, good physical, fast, aggressive defense. Everybody who plays this game wants to be a part of something special. And that's the goal from starting yesterday, we're trying to build something special.”

"I love it." – @JordanHicks on Coach Flores' style of defense. pic.twitter.com/BD9etNFOcG

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 18, 2023

Hicks, who turns 31 this offseason, understands the value of a cohesive defense. Everybody playing together towards one common goal is when a unit’s talent can truly be maximized.

“And that was you know, that's a huge part of coming back here and being able to be a part of something that is growing towards a common goal,” Hicks continued. “And I think we have a lot of the pieces in place. It started yesterday, developing that mindset, developing the understanding of who we want to be, setting that goal, so that we can all chase it in one direction.”

The Vikings need the defense to take a significant leap in 2023 in order to contend for the NFC’s Super Bowl bid. Flores is tasked with the challenge of fixing a handful of problems in one season with most of the same personnel from a year ago. If he can lead an above average unit next season, the sky is the limit for the Vikes.