Hicks already hot topic with Bears

Akiem Hicks has only been a Bear since March 13, when he left the New England Patriots as an unrestricted free agent, but the 6-foot-5, 324-pound defensive lineman is already a hot topic of conversation among his new teammates.

"He's a mountain," new Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan said. "You can't move him. I've been behind a couple (like him), but he's aggressive and instinctive and agile for a big guy."

Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman, the Bears' other new starting inside linebacker, who arrived about the same time as Hicks, both also via free agency, are especially excited about having another stout, space-eating defensive lineman keeping blockers off them.

"To see him in front of me and to not have linemen come up on me, it's a great feeling," Trevathan said. "That's what linebackers want. You want to roam around and just hit and attack. He's got the right attitude. He's a humble guy. We're all hungry, and he's right in that category."

With the 26-year-old Hicks at one end of the D-line in the base 3-4 alignment, along with 6-foot-4, 332-pound, 22-year-old nose tackle Eddie Goldman, last year's second-round pick, the Bears have the makings of a formidable young front. It will be bolstered by third-round rookie Jonathan Bullard and 300-pound veterans Mitch Unrein, Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton. At 29, Unrein is the only player in that group older than 24.

By occupying blockers in the trenches, the defensive linemen leave it up to the linebackers to make tackles.

"They're being unselfish. Selflessness in the 3-4 defense, especially how we run it here, is big," Freeman said.

"If (they're) holding those guys up, I don't want to be the guy not to make the play, or not be doing what I'm supposed to be doing," Freeman added. "You're not going to move (Hicks). That's good for me. I think we're going to have a pretty good season."

Hicks likes the prospect of working with Goldman, who led all Bears defensive linemen with 39 tackles and 4 ½ sacks last year as a rookie.

"The kid's strong," Hicks said. "I was singing to him today 'Came in like a wrecking ball,' (by Miley Cyrus) just because he's so strong."

Asked if he often sang Miley Cyrus songs, the affable Hicks didn't back down.

"All the time, yeah," he said. "I had a little (Justin) Bieber Fever back in the day, too."

That was probably before the Saints made Hicks their third-round pick in 2012, when Bears general manager Ryan Pace was in New Orleans' personnel department. After starting 30 games in 2013 and '14, Hicks found himself miscast last season, playing end in a 4-3 alignment for a discombobulated Saints defense, and he was traded to the Patriots after three games.

"I played 3-4 end previously, but there's not too many guys out there at 340 pounds that play a 4-3 end. That was part of the turmoil that was going on in New Orleans. Being able to get to New England and play something that my body type allows me to do ... it showed on tape at the end of the day.

"I can still be effective, and I hope that's what Ryan Pace still saw from me when he brought me here to play this 3-4 end."

The difference with end in a 4-3 and a 3-4 may appear subtle to some, but it's not.

"You're way more comfortable when you're in your zone, your area," Hicks said. "It's just like putting me at corner. I have no business out there."

Although it's early, Hicks believes he has found an ideal comfort level with the Bears.

"The things that I see in this defense are, first of all, everybody is athletic," he said. "Everybody is explosive, everybody has a hunger to get things done. Those factors are enough to make a good defense."

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