Should Rams sign Mike Hilton to play him in the nickel?
Mike Hilton has carved an eight-year career out of being an undrafted free agent in the 2017 class, but as a free agent this year he has yet to find a team that’s willing to pay him for a ninth. With training camp now here, should the Los Angeles Rams add depth to their cornerback room by signing Hilton to a low-risk veteran deal?
Hilton spent the first four years of his career with the Steelers, intercepting seven passes, and then the last four with the Cincinnati Bengals. He has intercepted at least one pass in all eight of his NFL seasons. He has also played in at least 70% of the snaps in each of the past four. The Rams might want to check on his availability.
An extremely young defense in Los Angeles seemed to grow better as the weeks went along. However, their overall finish on the year was 24th on PFSN’s Defense+ metric. The likes of Jared Verse should stabilize the defensive line.
Help on the outside is still a necessity, and the passing defense remains suspect, at best, for the Rams. As a result, a veteran option like Hilton might be a smart choice for Sean McVay in one of the final years of Matthew Stafford as the ring leader.
The Rams depth chart currently projects Quentin Lake at nickel and Charles Woods as depth. The defense obviously has a lot to sort out at the position over the next month and there is no apparent leader in the clubhouse.
Hilton is 31 and won’t be any team’s best cornerback, but in L.A. he might be good enough.