11. Mike Hilton, Pittsburgh Steelers
Minkah Fitzpatrick was one of the NFL’s best slot defenders in his rookie season of 2018 for the Dolphins, so it was assumed that when the Steelers traded their 2020 first-round pick for Fitzpatrick early in the 2019 season, the Alabama alum would play a similar role in Pittsburgh. Instead, Mike Tomlin and his staff decided to turn Fitzptrick into one of the league’s best deep safeties (which worked out very well), while relying on Hilton as their primary slot man. Hilton played 510 slot snaps in 2019, allowing 34 receptions on 55 targets for 394 yards, 146 yards after catch, three touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 94.1.
Aggressive to a fault at times, Hilton can get gobbled up by smarter receivers running exact routes. But he also has the recovery speed to swoop in even after he’s beaten to deflect a pass and benefit his defense. He’s also a good blitzer who picked up 1.5 sacks and 10 total pressures in 2019.