Stephon Stiles Gilmore (born September 19, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning 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.
In 2017, Gilmore joined the New England Patriots and was named Defensive Player of the Year the following season after 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 last three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings for one year each.
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 (43.10s) 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.
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 (2 complete) 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.
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.
The Buffalo Bills selected Gilmore in the first round (10th overall) 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.
Gilmore 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 (three solo) 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 (five solo) 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 (52 solo), 16 pass deflections, and one interception.
On January 6, 2013, the 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. Two days later, head coach Doug Marrone announced that 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 (Weeks 6–7) 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 (five solo) and had a pass deflection during a 23–13 loss to 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 (30 solo), ten pass deflections, and two interceptions in 11 games and nine starts.
On January 25, 2014, the 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.