Stephon Gilmore
Stephon Stiles Gilmore is an American professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League for 13 seasons. He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, receiving third-team All-American and first-team All-SEC honors in 2010. Gilmore was selected 10th overall in the 2012 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, where he spent his first five seasons and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2016.
The following year, Gilmore joined the New England Patriots. With the Patriots, he was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 after co-leading the league in interceptions. Gilmore also extended his Pro Bowl selections to four, received two first-team All-Pro selections, and was a member of the team that won Super Bowl LIII. After four years in New England, Gilmore played one season for the Carolina Panthers, receiving a fifth Pro Bowl selection. He spent his next three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings.
Early life
Gilmore attended South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he played football, basketball and ran track. In football, he was a two-way player as quarterback and defensive back, and helped his team to a perfect 15–0 record and the SCHSL AAAA Division II title as a senior. Among his teammates were DeVonte Holloman and Jadeveon Clowney. Playing quarterback on offense, Gilmore rushed for 1,331 yards and 23 touchdowns and passed for 1,771 yards with 14 scores. He earned first-team all-state honors by The State and was named an All-American by Parade and EA Sports. He was also named Mr. Football for the state of South Carolina.In track & field, Gilmore competed as a sprinter during his junior year in 2008. He recorded a PR of 11.41 seconds in the 100 meters in the prelims of the Taco Bell Classic. At the York County Meet, he took 5th in the 200 meters, at 23.14 seconds, and placed 9th in the 400 meters, with a time of 54.94 seconds. He was also a member of the 4 × 100 m relay squad.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Gilmore was listed as the No. 2 overall prospect from South Carolina in the class of 2009. He chose South Carolina over Alabama, Tennessee, and Clemson.
College career
Gilmore graduated from South Pointe High School in December 2008 to enroll at the University of South Carolina early, and participate in spring practice. It worked out, as he came out of spring as a starter at cornerback. Appearing in all 12 games for the Gamecocks, Gilmore was the rare true freshman to start at cornerback in the Southeastern Conference in 2009. He had 52 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, and nine passes defended, which earned him Freshman All-American honors by College Football News and Phil Steele. He occasionally appeared on offense, with a career total of 3 attempted passes and 6 rushes during regular season games. He also completed a 29-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery in the 4th quarter of the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl.Professional career
Pre-draft
Gilmore attended the NFL Scouting Combine and completed all of the combine drills, finishing second among all defensive backs in the short shuttle, tied for fourth in the 40-yard dash and the three-cone drill, finished sixth in the broad jump, and seventh in the vertical jump. On March 28, 2012, Gilmore attended South Carolina's pro day, along with Alshon Jeffery, Antonio Allen, Melvin Ingram, and 11 other prospects. He opted to only run positional drills for scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams, including then-New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Gilmore was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft analysts. He was ranked the second best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, ESPN analyst Mike Mayock, and NFL draft analyst Adam Rank.Buffalo Bills
2012
The Buffalo Bills selected Gilmore in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft. He was the second cornerback selected behind Morris Claiborne and was the highest selected Gamecocks' cornerback since Dunta Robinson in 2004.On May 17, 2012, the Buffalo Bills signed Gilmore to a four–year, $12.08 million rookie contract that is fully guaranteed and also includes a signing bonus of $7.22 million with a fifth-year option.
He entered training camp projected to be the No. 1 starting cornerback to begin the season, but had minor competition from Aaron Williams and Terrence McGee to earn the role following the departure of Drayton Florence. Head coach Chan Gailey named Gilmore and Aaron Williams the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season.
On September 10, 2012, Gilmore made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the Buffalo Bills' season-opener at the New York Jets and had five combined tackles during a 48–28 loss. The following week, Gilmore set a season-high with seven solo tackles and also made three pass deflections as the Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35–17 in Week 2. In Week 4, he recorded seven combined tackles and set a season-high with four pass deflections in the Bills 28–52 loss to the New England Patriots. On December 9, 2012, Gilmore had two solo tackles and made his first career interception on a pass by Sam Bradford to tight end Lance Kendricks and returned it for a 62–yard touchdown in the second quarter, but it was unfortunately overturned due a supposed holding penalty by defensive lineman Kyle Moore as the Bills lost 15–12 against the St. Louis Rams. On December 31, 2012, the Bills announced their decision to fire head coach Chan Gailey after finishing the 2012 NFL season with a 6–10 record. He started all 16 games as a rookie in 2012 and had a total of 61 combined tackles, 16 pass deflections, and one interception.
2013
On January 6, 2013, the Buffalo Bills hired Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone as their new head coach. Following the departure of Terrence McGee, the No. 24 became available and was immediately selected by Gilmore who opted to switch to No. 24 from the No. 27 he wore as a rookie. He entered training camp slated as the de facto No. 1 starting cornerback for the Bills under defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. On August 24, 2013, Gilmore recorded five combined tackles before exiting during the third quarter of the Bills' 30–17 loss against the Washington Redskins in the third preseason game after injuring his wrist. On August 26, 2013, head coach Doug Marrone announced Gilmore had fractured his wrist during the game and had would require surgery. The Bills chose not to place Gilmore on injured reserve as he would have to remain inactive for a minimum of eight games and had an expected recovery time of six to eight weeks. In his absence, Leodis McKelvin was named the No. 1 starting cornerback to begin the season and was paired with the fairly inexperienced Justin Rogers.Upon his return in Week 6, Justin Rogers was immediately benched and Gilmore began his first two games as the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Leodis McKelvin and Aaron Williams. In Week 9, he set a season-high with seven combined tackles and had a pass deflection during a 23–13 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. On December 18, 2013, Gilmore made two solo tackles, had two pass deflections, and had his first interception of the season on a pass by Mike Glennon to wide receiver Vincent Jackson during a 27–6 loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The following week, he had two solo tackles, a pass deflection, and helped secure the Bills' 27–20 victory at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15 after intercepting a pass thrown by Chad Henne to running back Jordan Todman with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter. He finished the 2013 NFL season with 35 combined tackles, ten pass deflections, and two interceptions in 11 games and nine starts.
2014
On January 25, 2014, the Buffalo Bills hired former Detroit Lions' head coach Jim Schwartz to be their defensive coordinator following the departure of Mike Pettine who accepted the head coaching position with the Cleveland Browns. Head coach Doug Marrone named Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin the starting cornerbacks to start the season with Corey Graham, Nickell Robey-Coleman, and Ross Cockrell as the backups.He was inactive for the Bills' 23–20 victory at the Chicago Bears in their Week 1 season-opener due to a groin injury. On September 21, 2014, Gilmore set a season-high of six solo tackles during a 22–10 loss against the San Diego Chargers. In Week 8, Gilmore had five combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt by Geno Smith during a 43–23 victory at the New York Jets. On December 21, 2014, Gilmore had one solo tackle before sustaining a concussion while attempting to tackle wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins in the third quarter and hitting his head on the ground as the Bills lost 26–24 at the Oakland Raiders. He subsequently remained in concussion protocol and was inactive for the Bills' 17–9 win at the New England Patriots in Week 17. He finished the season with 46 combined tackles, six pass deflections, and three interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts. The Buffalo Bills finished second in the AFC East during the 2014 NFL season with a 9–7 record but did not qualify for the playoffs. On December 31, 2014, Doug Marrone controversially announced his resignation as head coach after deciding to exercise an opt-out clause that was included in his contract.
2015
On January 12, 2015, the Buffalo Bills hired recently fired former New York Jets' head coach Rex Ryan to be their 18th head coach. On August 28, 2015, the Bills exercised the fifth–year option on Gilmore's rookie contract, that is a fully-guaranteed one–year, $11.08 million contract. He entered training camp slated as the de facto No. 1 starting cornerback under new defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman. He was named a starting cornerback to begin the season and was paired with 2015 rookie second-round pick Ronald Darby.On September 13, 2015, Gilmore started in the Buffalo Bills' home-opener against the Indianapolis Colts and recorded a season-high six solo tackles and set a season-high with four pass deflections during a 27–14 victory. On October 11, 2015, he made one solo tackle, tied his season-high of four pass deflections, and sealed a 14–13 victory the Tennessee Titans with a fourth quarter interception on a pass by Marcus Mariota to wide receiver Kendall Wright with 1:41 remaining. On December 6, 2015, Gilmore had two solo tackles before exiting during the third quarter of a 30–21 victory against the Houston Texans after injuring his shoulder while making a tackle on running back Akeem Hunt. On December 16, 2015, the Bills officially placed Gilmore on injured reserve and he remained inactive for the last four games of the season after undergoing surgery to repair his torn labrum the previous day. He finished the 2015 NFL season with a total of 36 solo tackles, 18 pass deflections, and three interceptions in 12 games and 12 starts. The Buffalo Bills did not qualify for the playoffs after finishing with an 8–8 record in 2015. He received an overall grade of 82.2 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 21st among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2015.