With training camps arriving for all 32 NFL clubs, it’s time for one more potential wave of free agent moves. Those who are still on the market could soon latch on with teams ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. Could the Las Vegas Raiders factor into that movement?
One outlet believes it makes sense. In a story for Bleacher Report, Kristopher Knox listed the best remaining free agents on the board. Cornerback Mike Hilton made the cut, with Las Vegas being dubbed a “logical landing spot.”
Can Raiders Help Mike Hilton ‘Find a Home’ Before Season?
Knox thinks Hilton can help a cornerback-needy team in a variety of ways.
“While the 31-year-old can be a tad inconsistent in pass coverage, he remains a terrific run defender and one of the league’s best blitzing cornerbacks,” Knox wrote. “As a full-time contributor in 2023, he tallied 73 tackles, five passes defended and 12 tackles for loss.”
Hilton, an undrafted free agent many years ago, has carved out a very nice NFL career. Spending his first eight seasons in the AFC North, he split time between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. In 123 career regular-season games (56 starts), he has 520 tackles, 56 passes broken up, 13 interceptions and 11.5 sacks.
With Knox linking Hilton to the Raiders, let’s peel back another layer of his 2024-25 campaign. Although his yards per completion allowed dropped for the third season in a row, his 92.0 passer rating when targeted was his second-worst career mark. On the other hand, he was the No. 1 cornerback for run defense per Pro Football Focus and posted the No. 24 overall grade.
Knox praised Hilton as having “inside-outside versatility,” but that’s more of a theory than a reality right now. According to PFF, he’s almost exclusively a slot option with his second-highest volume of reps typically coming as a box player. There’s nothing wrong with that, although it is something that must be considered when bringing him in.
Assessing the Rest of Las Vegas’ 2025 Cornerback Room
The question then becomes where Hilton – and whether Hilton – would fit in the Raiders’ secondary. Entering the season, the duo of free agent acquisition Eric Stokes and third-round rookie Darien Porter is projected to start on the boundary. Behind them, Decamerion Richardson and Jakorian Bennett (former fourth-round picks) are also in the mix. Richardson is looking to build on his rookie year, whereas Bennett’s goal should be to stay healthy and get momentum rolling again in 2025.
That still leaves a less-than-ideal situation at the nickel spot. As things currently stand, it could be Darnay Holmes‘ job for the taking. In his first season with the Raiders in 2024, Holmes logged 236 slot snaps compared to 12 on the outside. That goes pretty directly in line with his career trends as a member of the New York Giants.
Even at age 31, it’s hard to view Hilton as anything but an upgrade in the cornerback room. He’d be one of the league’s premier run defenders right out of the gate, also raising the team’s snap-to-snap floor in coverage. With head coach Pete Carroll choosing to keep defensive coordinator Patrick Graham in town, improvement over the 25th-ranked scoring defense is desperately needed.
Bringing in Hilton would be a step in the right direction. Knox makes a good point.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Raiders Named Possible Landing Spot for Veteran Free Agent CB appeared first on Heavy Sports.