Mike Hilton rightfully earned a spot among fan favorites as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers over four years. The Cincinnati Bengals offered him the best opportunity in free agency a year ago, however, so off he went to the Steelers’ division rivals—where he helped them, for the first time in three-plus decades, win in the postseason.
Now established as one of their defensive leaders, he has become a fixture in their locker room and a regular player to watch on the practice field. Especially because he routinely pulls what he calls a “best on best” matchup with Tyler Boyd.
“We go back and forth every day in practice. Just making each other better”, he recently told Geoff Hobson for the team’s website. “He just doesn’t get the respect he deserves because our outside receivers are some of the best receivers in football. If you ask anybody, TB is really probably the best slot receiver in all of football and he has the tape to back it up”.
Hilton got the microphone in his face following a practice session during which he picked off quarterback Joe Burrow not once, but twice while targeting Boyd. The offensive duo did get the better of him once for a long touchdown, but two takeaways will certainly help to neutralize that sting, especially for a quarterback who prides himself on ball security.
“He’ll be cool, calm collected about it. But I know tomorrow he’s definitely going to be coming out with that fire”, he said of his expectations of how Burrow would respond to Hilton getting the better of him twice in one afternoon.
Burrow, as you surely know, has just returned to practice after missing time due to a medical issue. The former first-overall pick is coming off of an admirable second season during which he showed growth over the course of the year, throwing for over 4,600 yards with 34 touchdown passes.
He helped the Bengals advance to the Super Bowl, coming up just a minute short of claiming a Lombardi Trophy, and now they’re hoping for an encore performance that they can cap off with the ultimate prize after finally breaking the franchise’s playoff barrier.
Equipped with star wide receivers in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Boyd, as well as a Pro Bowl running back in Joe Mixon, and with an offensive line bolstered by three free-agent pickups and the emergence of a young second-round pick, this is not an offense anybody is going to want to see too often this year.
Unless you’re Mike Hilton on the practice field, perhaps.
