New Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton has already emerged as major leader in the locker room.
As we’ve noted, Hilton has spurred a culture change by bringing over a fines and accountability system for the secondary, something he learned during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Early this week, Hilton also talked about his time in Pittsburgh with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com and threw out something really notable — he thinks Jessie Bates is the best safety in the league, even better than Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick.
He also explained why he chose the Bengals:
“Just seeing the guys they had over here. It started with Joe (Burrow). When you have a guy that you can build around for the next 10 plus years, that’s definitely an exciting feeling. And you know, just seeing the growth of this team over these last four years that I’ve played them. They might not get the respect that we deserve around, but we feel like we’re coming to that turning point where guys are definitely going to respect us as a team.”
The last week or so has been a fun get-to-know session with Hilton for Bengals fans after being told for months that he was a great, underrated signing by the team.
With the defense dominating the offense right now, plus all of the above, it’s pretty clear those predictions ring true already.
