Getty Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton.
The Denver Broncos have 2 high level cornerbacks on their roster with NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss, who helped lead one of the league’s best defenses in 2024.
What they don’t really have at the position is depth, which they might be able to obtain in free agency — USA Today’s Jacob Camenker has Cincinnati Bengals veteran cornerback Mike Hilton tabbed as the perfect player to fill that spot.
“Ja’Quan McMillan is set to be a free agent in 2025,” Camenker said. “The Broncos could bring him back, but they could also bring an experienced veteran like Hilton in to add another top performer to the team’s high-quality defense. Hilton had six pressures playing the slot in 2024, good for the 11th-best in the NFL, and is a great run defender.”
From Undrafted to Decade Playing in NFL
Hilton was a star defensive back who played both safety and cornerback at Ole Miss and was an All-SEC pick in 2015 but his pre-draft measurables — 5-foot-8 and 178 pounds — kept him off the draft boards of NFL teams.
Hilton signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent and was cut by the Jaguars in the preseason then by the New England Patriots before spending the rest of the season with the Pittsburgh Steelers on the practice squad.
Hilton became a key member of the Steelers’ defense over the next 4 seasons, playing in 59 games with 20 starts and 7 interceptions. Hilton’s career high 3 interceptions in 2020 in a contract year led to a 4-year, $24 million free agent contract with the Bengals, where he had 66 tackles, 8 TFL, 5 pass deflections, 2 interceptions and 1 interception return for a touchdown in 2021 as the Bengals made it to the Super Bowl.
In 4 seasons with the Bengals, Hilton has missed just 4 games and has 7 interceptions. He started a career high 13 games in 2023 and started 10 games in 2024.
One thing Hilton does that’s added value is that he’s an effective rusher on corner blitzes — he has 11.5 career sacks including a career high 3.0 sacks in 2020 and 2.0 sacks in 2023.
In 2024, Hilton had 73 tackles with 1 interception and 5 pass deflections and Spotrac has his current projected market value at a 3-year, $37 million contract — which seems high even for a veteran starter at his position and for a player about to turn 31 years old in March.
Broncos Have NFL’s Elite Cornerback in His Prime
When Surtain was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year following the 2024 season, he was the first Denver player to do so since linebacker Randy Gradishar in 1978 and did so after one of the most dominant seasons for a cornerback in NFL history. Surtain, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, is already a 2-time NFL All-Pro and 3-time Pro Bowler through 4 NFL seasons.
“Patrick Surtain II has allowed a passer rating of 39.1 when targeted this season,” NFL on CBS wrote on its official X account on December 24. “A QB’s passer rating would be higher if they threw it into the ground on each pass (39.6).”
The Broncos and general manager George Paton now look like geniuses after making sure to sign Surtain to a 4-year, $96 million contract extension before the season that keeps the 24-year-old with the team through the 2029 season.
