Surrounded by 1st-rounders on Steelers’ dominant defense, undrafted Mike Hilton stands tall

In ranking the Pittsburgh Steelers by snaps played this season on defense, eight of the top nine are former first-round picks. The other is a third-rounder.

And then there’s Mike Hilton. He’s not only the shortest player on one of the NFL’s top defenses, he’s the only one who went undrafted.

“We’ve got a whole lot of first-round picks and a whole lot of drafted guys around him,” safety Terrell Edmunds said, “but Mike is just out there making plays.”

Steelers' 11 defenders who have played the most snaps this season, listed by draft round:
1st rd
1st rd
3rd rd
1st rd
1st rd
1st rd
1st rd
1st rd
1st rd
UNDRAFTED (Mike Hilton)
1st rdhttps://t.co/jNgqhO2yFA

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 20, 2019

Hilton, the Steelers’ nickel cornerback, is a little big man on a defense that features 11 former first-round picks. The only player who has played more snaps on the defense than Hilton this season who was not a first-round pick is Steve Nelson, who, as a 2015 third-round pick, comes with pedigree in the way of the biggest contract given to a player who joined the Steelers as an unrestricted free agent ($25.5 million over three years).

While the collection of big names the Steelers have assembled on defense have kept them in the playoff hunt, the Steelers get an abundance of big plays from an unlikely source in Hilton.

Hilton has an interception, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, four tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, 10 pass defenses and 54 tackles this season.

Not bad for a 5-foot-9, 184-pounder who was cut twice as a rookie before the Steelers picked him up for their practice squad three years ago.

“Mike, man, since I got here, he surprised me just because he has a lot of toughness to him,” Nelson said. “He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays big — that’s all that matters. He shows up, you see it time after time. He runs in there and makes those tackles on big running backs. He’s fearless. So he gets a lot of respect doing stuff like that.”

Pittsburgh @steelers DB Mike Hilton has THREE sacks already. But who's counting... ? pic.twitter.com/FbvnZtJhKw

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 25, 2017

Hilton perhaps made his biggest impact two years ago when he had three sacks in a Christmas Day win at the Houston Texans.

He was the darling of training camp that summer, opening eyes at Saint Vincent while winning the starting nickel job ahead of veteran William Gay and former second-round pick (and college teammate of Hilton’s at Ole Miss) Senquez Golson.

Since, Hilton has missed just one of the Steelers’ 47 games (including playoffs). He has 175 tackles (137 solo), six sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 17 QB hits and 20 tackles for loss.

Hilton has played 62.1% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps this season — an increase over the 56.7% and 58.8% he played the past two seasons — and is one of the primary components of the NFL’s No. 5 passing defense.

“It’s been fun. I have been enjoying every moment of it,” Hilton said. “I don’t take it for granted. I know what position I was in, and what I am in now. So I’ve got out there every day and try to prove myself.”

For those counting at home:

1️⃣ fumble recovery for @MikeHilton_28
1️⃣ interception for @MikeHilton_28 pic.twitter.com/HC4iv5irfn

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 25, 2018

Despite numerous attempts by the Steelers to replace him, Hilton keeps fending off Cameron Sutton (a third-round pick), veteran Coty Sensabaugh (in 2017-18) and even former first-round pick Artie Burns.

Now, Hilton could be a candidate for a long-term contract from the Steelers in the spring, when he will be a restricted free agent and a year away from unrestricted free agency.

Hilton also has showed off his versatility, at times playing the dime spot in the secondary and even lining up as a safety.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who can move around, and that keeps offenses confused and off-balance,” Hilton said.

“Me, I just know you’ve got to be able to show your versatility. You’ve got to be able to show the coach that you can do more than just one thing. I’d like to think I’ve shown I can do whatever is asked.”

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