| Number | 33 |
|---|---|
| Current team | Cleveland Browns |
| Position | Safety |
| Birth date | October 11, 2001 (age 25) |
| Birth place | Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft |
| Height in | 1 |
| Weight lb | 209 |
| High school | DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey) |
| College | Ohio State (2019–2022) |
| Undraftedyear | 2023 |
| Pastteams |
|
| Status | Active |
| Highlights |
|
| Statseason | 2025 |
| Statlabel 1 | Total tackles |
| Statvalue 1 | 173 |
| Statlabel 2 | Interceptions |
| Statvalue 2 | 3 |
| Statlabel 3 | Interception yards |
| Statvalue 3 | 61 |
| Statlabel 4 | Pass deflections |
| Statvalue 4 | 11 |
| Statlabel 5 | Forced fumbles |
| Statlabel 6 | Fumble recoveries |
| Statvalue 6 | 1 |
| Statlabel 7 | Sacks |
| Statlabel 8 | Defensive touchdowns |
| Statvalue 8 | 1 |
| Pfr | HickRo00 |
Ronnie Hickman Jr. (born October 11, 2001) is an American professional football safety for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Browns after the 2023 NFL draft.
Early life
Raised in South Orange, New Jersey, Hickman attended DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, New Jersey.[1] He played safety and wide receiver in high school. Hickman was selected to play in the 2019 All-American Bowl.[2][3] He committed to Ohio State University to play college football.[4][5]
Prior to committing to Ohio State, Hickman was an All-American lacrosse player, and he originally committed to Rutgers University for lacrosse.[6]
College career
Hickman played at Ohio State from 2019 to 2022. After redshirting in 2019 to recover from an injury he suffered his senior year in high school, he played in five games in 2020 on special teams, finishing with five tackles. In 2021, he started all 13 games recording 99 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a touchdown.[7][8] In 2022, he started 13 games and had 53 tackles and an interception.[6] After the season, Hickman entered the 2023 NFL draft.[9]
Professional career
Hickman signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023.[10] On August 29, the Browns announced that he had made the team's initial 53-man roster.[11] During the Browns' Week 17 victory over the New York Jets, Hickman recorded his first career interception off quarterback Trevor Siemian and returned it 30 yards for his first NFL touchdown.[12]
In 2025, Hickman emerged as a full time starter and recorded a career-high 103 total tackles and two interceptions.[13]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fum | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2023 | CLE | 10 | 4 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 30.0 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | CLE | 14 | 5 | 45 | 26 | 19 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | CLE | 17 | 17 | 103 | 51 | 52 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 15.5 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 41 | 26 | 173 | 94 | 79 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 61 | 20.3 | 30 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fum | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2023 | CLE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ^ Evans, Alex (July 13, 2018). "Ronnie Hickman committed to Ohio State but focused on DePaul". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Hunt, Todderick (2018-05-14). "DePaul 4-star Ronnie Hickman to play in the 2019 U.S. Army All-American Bowl". NJ.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Newman, Logan (2018-10-19). "Ohio State commit Ronnie Hickman receives All-American Bowl jersey". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Bielik, Tim (2018-04-14). "4-star athlete Ronnie Hickman commits to Ohio State". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Wasserman, Ari (April 13, 2018). "Ohio State earns a commitment from four-star athlete Ronnie 'Rocket' Hickman before spring game: What it means". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Schmidt, Lori (November 9, 2022). "From Drake to Oreos: Ohio State's Rocket Hickman demonstrates his versatility". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Baird, Nathan (2021-09-30). "How ‘Rocket’ man Ronnie Hickman became Ohio State football’s stabilizer at Bullet". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Iseman, Chris (July 28, 2022). "How Ronnie Hickman, former North Jersey football star, blossomed into a leader at Ohio State". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Kaufman, Joey (November 22, 2022). "Ohio State football safety Ronnie Hickman to enter 2023 NFL draft". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ "Browns sign nine undrafted free agents". ClevelandBrowns.com. May 12, 2023. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ "Browns reduce roster to 53". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Galatzan, Matt (2024-03-13). "REPORT: Ex Buckeyes Standout Vonn Bell Released By Panthers". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
- ^ Walker, Dante (November 21, 2025). "A surprise star is taking over the Browns' defense". Dawg Pound Daily. Retrieved January 7, 2026.