Free Agency: Mike Hilton can intensify competition at slot cornerback

Veteran defender still productive and would be worthwhile addition to Las Vegas Raiders’ secondary

Knock Nate Hobbs’ tenure as the slot corner all you want — and rightfully so. After all, the 167th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft played in just 51 games out of the 67 total (38 starts) in his first four years in the league.

As a 25-year-old in the Las Vegas Raiders defense in 2024, Hobbs played in only 11 games (seven starts). And we all know availability is the best ability.

But when available, Hobbs was a productive and reliable nickel corner. So much so, Hobbs inked a lucrative four-year, $48 million deal ($16 million guaranteed) with the Green Bay Packers in free agency back in March. Now, there’s a considerable void at slot cornerback that the Silver & Black must fill this offseason as they embark on a 2025 campaign under new head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek.

While Las Vegas does have in-house options available to them — more on that below — there’s a veteran on the free agent market that can certainly come in, produce, and provide much-needed veteran leadership: Mike Hilton.

By The Numbers:
Mike Hilton, Cornerback, Mississippi

• 2024: 16 games (10 starts), 73 total tackles (50 solo), 12 tackles for loss, 1 quarterback hit, 1 interception, 5 pass breakups
• Career (2017-24): 123 games (56 starts), 520 total tackles (396 solo), 66 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 32 quarterback hits, 13 interceptions, 56 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries

Even at the ripe age of 31 years old, the Ole Miss product was a regular on the Cincinnati Bengals defense in 2024 as he played 739 snaps in the 16 games he played (10 starts). Even at a smaller 5-foot-9 and 184-pounder, Hilton exhibits the strong ability and willingness to tackle while remaining a harrier in coverage.

According to Pro Football Reference, Hilton was targeted 61 times allowing 41 completions (67.2 percent) for 356 yards and three touchdowns. He allowed an average of 8.7 yards per reception which is on par with what you expect from a quality nickel cornerback who is charged with covering shiftier and nimble slot receivers.

For his seven-year career, Hilton’s availability isn’t as precarious as Hobbs. He played in 16 games last season and 17 in 2023. Hilton is what coaches expect out of a slot cornerback that can cover, tackle, and blitz the quarterback when called upon.

And for the Raiders, the undrafted free agent who entered the league with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017 and played in all 16 games, would be the elder statesman and wiseman amongst a group of cornerbacks where the oldest amongst the position group is Sam Webb at age 27.

Spytek and Carroll added veteran one-year fliers — particularly at linebacker — so another one in a very young cornerback room would be both apt and wise. At the very least, Hilton’s presence brings the best out of the cornerback group eyeing the slot corner starting role.

In-house Options

Last month, I looked at Darnay Holmes and Thomas Harper being the prime candidates for the slot cornerback role in 2025.

That duo are likely first men up at the fight for nickel work.

It’s unclear if Las Vegas will use the 4-2-5 alignment as its base grouping — that’s been the case during Patrick Graham’s tenure as defensive coordinator. But with Carroll now as boss, the defensive-minded head coach has a history using a 4-3 base alignment with 3-4 concepts cooked in.

But with NFL teams deploying a trio of wide receivers more often, the nickel alignment is likely to be used extensively by the Raiders — which puts focus on getting a quality cornerback to cover the slot.

Holmes not only has experience as a nickel defender in the NFL but has familiarity with Graham dating back to their days as New York Giants. Harper, meanwhile, is a safety by position but has the tackling and cover ability to be a strong option — if he impresses Carroll and Co.

An outside-the-box potential candidate is undrafted free agent Mello Dotson. Our Matt Holder did a great job highlighting the Kansas Jayhawks’ ballhawk ability and I postulated Dotson could make for an intriguing option inside.

This is based on his size — 6-foot-1 and 192 pounds — and arm length — 31 ¹⁄₂ inches — as well as his ability to excel in zone and against plays in front of him. His long speed is a big question mark with 4.59 timed speed, as is his collegiate career that saw him as an outside cornerback. However, Hobbs was a pure perimeter corner at Illinois before the Raiders gave him a shot at slot cornerback and he excelled.

Something similar can happen with Dotson.

Another name brought up for slot cornerback is veteran Lonnie Johnson Jr. This is hard to foresee as the 29-year-old safety hasn’t played regularly on defense since 2021 (541 snaps). Since then, it was 165 in 2022, 122 in 2023, and a meager 13 this past season.