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Thread: The NFL's 11 best slot defenders- Mike Hilton is #11

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    Senior Member Array title="pczach has a reputation beyond repute"> pczach's Avatar

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    The NFL's 11 best slot defenders- Mike Hilton is #11

    Here's a great read with a lot of information ranking NFL slot defenders.

    There's a thread here comparing Hilton to Cam Sutton. This gives a good breakdown of Hilton's numbers and then lists some strengths and weaknesses and I think it's interesting to hear what others think of Hilton and back up their opinions with some stats.





    The NFL's 11 best slot defenders

    Doug Farrar


    In the 2019 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, there were 19,933 total quarterback dropbacks. Against those dropbacks, NFL defenses put four defensive backs on the field just 18% of the time (3,579 snaps), while nickel defense (with five defensive backs) ruled the league by far with 59% of all snaps (11,780). And if you want to know how much the NFL isn’t a base defense league anymore, consider this: Defenses lined up in dime coverage (six defensive backs on the field) on 20.9% of total dropbacks (4,091), which means that teams played more dime defense than base defense. The Seahawks were the only team to play base defense more than 50% of the time (67%), and the Cardinals finished second at 37%.

    All this is to say that unless you’re the Seahawks, you’d better have some top-level slot defenders if you want to put a credible pass defense out there in a league where offenses are implementing more kinds of receiver sets and route combinations than ever before.

    And it’s not as if the skill sets required to be a slot defender are the same as those for an outside cornerback. You might be up against a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end on first down who can body you right out of the paint, and on the next play, you may have to deal with a small, speedy option-route receiver whose job is to juke you right out of your shoes. And as Richard Sherman once told me in his Seattle days, the thing about playing outside cornerback is that the boundary is your friend. That’s not the case when you’re in the slot, where you’re defending in space pretty much all the time.
    So, which slot defenders were the most effective and valuable to their teams in 2019, and thus should be set up to do the same in 2020? With help from Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and a whole lot of tape study, here’s one list. To avoid small sample-size results, each of these defenders played at least 50% of their snaps in the slot.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-nfls-11-best-slot-defenders/ar-BB16Ap0H


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    Senior Member Array title="Psycho Ward 86 has a reputation beyond repute"> Psycho Ward 86's Avatar

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    Re: The NFL's 11 best slot defenders- Mike Hilton is #11

    Ill take Hilton over Sutton all day. Hilton really is the unsung hero of this defense and ill miss him when hes gone, regardless of how well his replacement plays. Honestly feel like i say just about the same thing in every Mike Hilton thread but i cant say it enough!
    Quote Originally Posted by XxKnightxX View Post
    We are not Buffalo, We are not Miami. We are the Steelers, we dont blow out teams, we cock tease for ratings and keep games close.

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    Senior Member Array title="steelcityboyz has a brilliant future"> steelcityboyz's Avatar

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    Re: The NFL's 11 best slot defenders- Mike Hilton is #11

    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Ward 86 View Post
    Ill take Hilton over Sutton all day. Hilton really is the unsung hero of this defense and ill miss him when hes gone, regardless of how well his replacement plays. Honestly feel like i say just about the same thing in every Mike Hilton thread but i cant say it enough!
    Dude is a play maker, couldn't have said it better.

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    The Corn Shucking Hippie Array title="IowaSteeler927 is a name known to all"> IowaSteeler927's Avatar

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    Re: The NFL's 11 best slot defenders- Mike Hilton is #11

    Mike Hilton is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. You almost never hear his name mentioned outside of Steelers circles. Definitely an unsung hero of this defense, much like Javon Hargrave was before he left town.

    "If I could start my life all over again, I would be a professional football player, and you damn well better believe I would be a Pittsburgh Steeler." Jack Lambert, 1990 HoF Introduction.

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