Michael Hilton Jr. was born on March 9, 1994. He is a professional football player who plays as a cornerback. He attended college at the University of Mississippi, where he played for the Ole Miss Rebels. In 2016, he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent.
College career
Hilton began attending the University of Mississippi in 2012. He did not play in the Rebels' first game against Central Arkansas but made his college debut in Week 2 against UTEP. The following week, he made his first two tackles for the team when Ole Miss lost to Texas. Hilton started his first college game on October 6, 2012, against Texas A&M. He had three solo tackles, forced a fumble, and recorded two sacks of the Aggies' quarterback, Johnny Manziel. The Rebels lost 27–30 in that game. In Week 8, he had a season-high six tackles and made his first two pass deflections of the season, helping the Rebels win 30–27 against Arkansas. He played in 12 games as a freshman, starting four. He finished with 33 combined tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, two pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.
Hilton started the Rebels' season opener against Vanderbilt at the "Huskie" position, a hybrid strong safety role. He finished the 39–35 victory with five total tackles, two of which were for a loss. On October 5, 2013, he had a season-high eight combined tackles during a 22–30 loss to Auburn. On November 16, 2013, he made his first career interception and recorded four combined tackles as the Rebels defeated Troy 51–21. He finished the season with 52 combined tackles (37 solo), 5.5 tackles for a loss, four pass deflections, a sack, and a forced fumble in 11 games and 11 starts.
In the Rebels' season-opening 35–13 victory over Boise State, Hilton had a season-high nine combined tackles. On September 13, 2014, he recorded four combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first interception of the season in a 56–15 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. On October 25, 2014, he had eight combined tackles and made his third interception of the season in a 7–10 loss to #24 LSU. Hilton finished his junior season with career-high 71 combined tackles (48 solo), four tackles for a loss, three interceptions, and seven pass deflections in 13 starts and 13 games. He led the team with 71 tackles and started 11 games at cornerback and two games as rover.
As a senior, Hilton wore the #38 jersey. This number is special at Ole Miss and is only given to a player who shows the spirit of former Rebels defensive back Chucky Mullins. In 1989, Mullins became paralyzed after making a head-first tackle that broke four vertebrae in his cervical spine.
In a 73–22 victory over Fresno State in Week 2, Hilton had six combined tackles (one for a loss), a forced fumble, and half a sack while starting at rover. On October 10, 2015, he recorded four combined tackles (three for a loss), a pass deflection, and his first interception of the season in a 52–3 win over New Mexico State. The following week, the Rebels lost to Memphis, and Hilton made a career-high 11 combined tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, a pass deflection, and an interception. He finished his senior season with 70 combined tackles (49 solo), 12.5 tackles for a loss, 11 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions in 11 starts and 13 games.
Hilton finished his college career with 226 combined tackles (156 solo), 25.5 tackles for a loss, 24 pass deflections, six interceptions, four forced fumbles, and 3.5 sacks in 49 games and 39 starts.
Professional career
After leaving the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), Hilton was expected by most NFL draft experts and scouts to go undrafted and become a priority free agent. He did not receive an invitation to the NFL Combine and attended Ole Miss' pro day on March 28, 2016. Representatives and scouts from all 32 NFL teams attended the pro day to evaluate one of the most talented groups in Ole Miss history, which included Hilton and other players such as Laquon Treadwell, Laremy Tunsil, Robert Nkemdiche, Cody Core, Chad Kelly, Evan Engram, Fahn Cooper, and ten other prospects. Hilton was ranked as the 27th-best free safety prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. Scouts praised his ability to play multiple positions in college, his coverage skills, strong tackling ability, quick reactions, and ability to track balls downfield. However, NFL scouts believed his lack of size limited his potential to succeed at the professional level.
On May 1, 2016, Hilton signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2016 NFL draft.
During training camp, Hilton competed with Aaron Colvin, Dwayne Gratz, Peyton Thompson, Josh Johnson, Demetrius McCray, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, and Nick Marshall for a backup cornerback position. On August 29, 2016, the Jaguars released Hilton as part of their final roster cuts.
On September 6, 2016, Hilton joined the practice squad of the New England Patriots. He was released by the team on September 14, 2016.
On December 13, 2016, Hilton signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad. He remained on the Steelers' practice squad for the rest of the 2016 season and did not play in any games that year. On January 24, 2017, Hilton signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers. He reunited with his former teammate Senquez Golson, whom he had played with at Ole Miss.
Hilton entered training camp competing with William Gay and Senquez Golson for the starting nickelback position. He was named the starting nickelback to begin the 2017 regular season.
Hilton made his regular season debut during the Steelers' 18–17 season-opening win over the Cleveland Browns, recording two combined tackles. The following week, he earned his first career start and recorded a season-high nine combined tackles in a 26–9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. On October 1, 2017, Hilton collected four solo tackles, earned his first career sack, and made his first career interception off Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco during the Steelers' 26–9 victory. On December 25, 2017, Hilton recorded six solo tackles and three sacks on Houston Texans quarterbacks T. J. Yates and Taylor Heinicke during the Steelers' 34–6 victory, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Hilton finished the 2017 season with 64 combined tackles (48 solo), six pass deflections, four sacks, and two interceptions in 16 games and four starts. He received an overall grade of 83.6 from Pro Football Focus (PFF), which ranked as the 28th-best grade among all cornerbacks in 2017.
Hilton changed his jersey number from No. 31 to No. 28 after Sean Davis and Joe Haden also changed numbers. Head coach Mike Tomlin kept Hilton as the primary nickelback to start the 2018 regular season and named him the fifth backup cornerback, behind Haden, Artie Burns, Coty Sensabaugh, and Cameron Sutton. On September 24, 2018, Hilton made five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 30–27 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He sustained an elbow injury during the game and was inactive for the Steelers’ Week 4 loss against the Ravens. In Week 14, he recorded a season-high eight combined tackles during a 24–21 loss at the Oakland Raiders. He finished the 2018 season with 57 combined tackles (44 solo), eight pass deflections, one sack, and one interception in 15 games and two starts. He received an overall grade of 69.9 from PFF, which ranked as the 43rd-best grade among cornerbacks in 2018.
In Week 5 against the Ravens, Hilton recorded his first interception of the season off Lamar Jackson in the 23–26 overtime loss. In Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins, Hilton forced a fumble on running back Mark Walton, which was recovered by teammate Steven Nelson during the 27–14 win. In Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills, Hilton recovered a fumble forced by teammate T. J. Watt on running back Devin Singletary during the 10–17 loss.
On March 18, 2020, the Steelers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Hilton. He signed the tender on June 12, 2020.
In Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, Hilton led the team with eight tackles, recorded his first sack of the season on Jeff Driskel, and recovered a fumble during the 26–21 win. In Week 3 against the Texans, Hilton recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Deshaun Watson during the 28–21 win. In Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hilton again led the team with eight tackles and sacked Carson Wentz once during the 38–29 win. In Week 14 against the Bills, Hilton intercepted a pass thrown by Josh Allen and forced a fumble on Dawson Knox, which was recovered by the Steelers during the 15–26 loss. In Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts, Hilton recovered a fumble lost by Philip Rivers and intercepted a pass thrown by Rivers late in the fourth quarter to secure a 28–24 win for the Steelers. Hilton earned the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance in Week 16.
Hilton signed a four-year, $24 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals on March 19, 2021. He was named the starting nickel cornerback for the season. In Week 12 against his former team, the Steelers, he returned an interception 24 yards for his first career touchdown in a 41–10 rout. Hilton made a crucial third-quarter interception in the Divisional Round game against the Tennessee Titans, which the Bengals won on their path to Super Bowl LVI, where they lost 23–20 to the Los Angeles Rams.
Hilton returned to his nickelback slot corner role for the Bengals in 2022. He missed the Week 15 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to a finger injury. In