Eagles Mailbag: Could Mike Hilton Be the Answer at CB?
Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman is always looking to make moves. Despite earning a gritty win against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, Roseman has already made another addition. The Eagles signed veteran EDGE Za’Darius Smith to add experience to Philadelphia’s defensive front.
Now Roseman is possibly eyeing another veteran addition. The Eagles are reportedly hosting veteran slot CB Mike Hilton for a workout. Could Hilton be the answer to Philadelphia’s issues at CB? I’ll answer that and more in this week’s Eagles mailbag.
Well it looks like Howie Roseman already has his eyes on Mike Hilton, as the 31-year-old CB is reportedly working out for the Eagles today. Yet it’s been fun to see all of the theories that have emerged since Hilton’s workout was initially reported by Jordan Schultz.
My immediate thought was that Hilton could start at slot CB, which would allow Cooper DeJean to move to outside CB. Hilton has primarily played slot CB across eight seasons in the NFL.
Here is a breakdown of Hilton’s career usage in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus:
Slot CB: 4,714 snaps
Box: 674 snaps
DL: 234 snaps
Outside CB: 139 snaps
FS: 92 snaps
Based on those career numbers, it’s quite clear that Hilton wouldn’t be coming to Philadelphia to play outside CB. Given the struggles of Adoree’ Jackson and Jakorian Bennett in Week 1, Roseman and Eagles DC Vic Fangio could be eyeing Hilton as a different type of solution.
DeJean is already playing outside CB in Philadelphia’s base defense. Yet the Eagles don’t currently have a slot CB that they trust enough to fill DeJean’s role there. Hilton would potentially give them that option in 2025.
It’s also entirely possible that DeJean remains in the slot and Hilton is brought in to serve a different role. Hilton could be the sixth DB in Philadelphia’s dime defense, while also being an experienced backup slot CB.
Regardless of Hilton’s potential role in Philadelphia, it doesn’t hurt to kick the tires on an experienced slot CB. Hilton’s arrival could open up a few different options for Fangio to explore with Philadelphia’s secondary.
While the team already has their eyes on Hilton, there are a few other intriguing options out there. Stephon Gilmore and Kendall Fuller stand out as the clear top two free agent CBs that are still available on the open market.
Gilmore will turn 35-years old on September 19th and allowed five touchdowns with a passer rating of 99.8 last season, per PFF. I’m not quite sure that he would be a significant upgrade over who the Eagles already have on their roster. Especially given the contract that he is likely seeking.
Fuller is 30-years old and played well last season for the Miami Dolphins. Yet he suffered two concussions in 2024 and was forced to miss multiple games. If healthy, Fuller would provide competition for the Eagles, yet it’s hard to say with certainty that he would be an upgrade.
I’ve mentioned it before but I absolutely believe that Nakobe Dean could be a trade candidate when he returns. Dean will be eligible to return in Week 5 and the trade deadline is right after Week 9 on Tuesday, November 4th at 4:00 P.M. ET.
Dean is in the final year of his rookie contract and it would almost be unfair to see him rotting away on Philadelphia’s bench. It would make sense for the Eagles to give him a chance to flourish elsewhere, while also receiving draft compensation or a player at a different position in return.
There’s a clear talent disparity between Micah Parsons and Travon Walker. While Walker is a solid player, he doesn’t belong in the same discussion as Parsons. It feels like the Walker to Philadelphia idea is only heightened because of his connection to Georgia.
Walker is only 24-years old and is coming off back-to-back double-digit sack seasons. I don’t understand why the Jaguars would be in a rush to trade him at all.
If the Jaguars are out of the playoff race by the trade deadline, maybe Walker will become available. But I just don’t see the Eagles being interested in trading for Walker because of their reported interest in Parsons.
I haven’t heard or read about any character concerns for Smith. While he has bounced around the NFL a bit in recent years, he has still been an incredibly impactful player.
My guess is that Smith would fall in the Chris Long category, more-so than the Robert Quinn category. It seems like he was regarded as a leader with the Detroit Lions last season and said all of the right things publicly.
In regards to his on-field performance, here’s how Smith’s last season before joining the Eagles stacked up next to Long and Quinn:
Smith in 2024: 67 total pressures in 445 pass rushing snaps (9 sacks)
Long in 2016: 65 total pressures in 482 pass rushing snaps (4 sacks)
Quinn in 2022: 14 total pressures in 171 pass rushing snaps (1 sack)
Based on how the NFL has operated in recent years, it feels like a hefty fine would make sense. Jalen Carter essentially served a one-game suspension by missing all of Week 1. Yet the NFL could use this opportunity to make an example out of Carter and establish a new norm.
After failing to ban the “Tush Push,” the NFL could suspend Carter for another game or two as revenge. Especially with an upcoming Super Bowl rematch in Week 2, it feels like the perfect opportunity for the league office to reestablish their dominance over the NFL (and especially the Eagles).
I wouldn’t be too concerned about the Eagles struggling to run the ball in Week 1. It was clear that Landon Dickerson wasn’t 100% healthy, along with A.J. Brown being banged up on the outside as well. Those two injuries completely changed the dynamic of the offense.
Assuming that both players return to full health, Philadelphia’s interior running game will be just fine. Saquon Barkley averaged 6.8 yards per rushing attempt when running between the left guard and the left tackle last season.
In Week 1, Barkley had -5 rushing yards on two rushing attempts between the left guard and the left tackle, per PFF. That’s a drastic difference and something that I don’t expect to continue moving forward this season.
The most frustrating thing that I noticed in Week 1 was the depth that the CBs played at against the Cowboys. It felt like both Quinyon Mitchell and Adoree’ Jackson were put in position to fail based on their pre-snap alignments.
While Fangio has said in the past that CBs have the freedom to press, it’s unclear if that was an option in Week 1. It felt like Jackson was especially set up to fail on multiple third-and-short situations, where he lined up 8+ yards off the line of scrimmage.
I highly doubt the Eagles entered Week 1 and said “hey, we’re only going to target A.J. Brown one time.” It seemed clear that Brown wasn’t fully healthy given his movement speed and how he was utilized against the Cowboys.
I also think it’s fair to give Dallas credit for how they played the Eagles as well. Matt Eberflus had a solid game plan and especially started to get to Jalen Hurts after the weather delay.
The Eagles have had several games in recent seasons where the passing game looked lost. While it certainly wasn’t encouraging to see that happen in Week 1, I believe that they’ll be just fine and the WRs will be utilized more moving forward.
It’s easy to say that now but that wasn’t how everyone felt heading into Week 1 last season. We had no idea that Zack Baun would develop into a First-Team All-Pro LB and Avonte Maddox was initially the starting slot CB.
I think we forget just how bad things were to start last season because of how it all ended. The Atlanta Falcons had their way with the Eagles on the ground, as their RBs had 23 carries for 150 yards in Week 2.
Obviously the Tampa Bay Buccaneers diced the Eagles up in Week 4 as well. While it was tough to see Jackson get abused in the regular season opener, it’s entirely too early to start panicking.
The Eagles have just as much, if not more, talent than they had last season. Roseman is constantly working to improve the roster and the coaching staff will continue to iron out the wrinkles as the season progresses.