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. He played safety and wide receiver in high school. Hickman was selected to play in the 2019 All-American Bowl. He committed to Ohio State University to play college football.
Prior to committing to Ohio State, Hickman was an All-American lacrosse player, and he originally committed to Rutgers University for lacrosse.
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. In 2022, he started 13 games and had 53 tackles and an interception. After the season, Hickman entered the 2023 NFL draft.
Professional career
Hickman signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023. On August 29, the Browns announced that he had made the team's initial 53-man roster. 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.
In 2025, Hickman emerged as a full time starter and recorded a career-high 103 total tackles and two interceptions.
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 0Career 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 0Career 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
References
External links
Cleveland Browns bio Ohio State Buckeyes bio