He played college football for the FIU Panthers and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft.

Due to chemistry with his fellow 2012 draftee Andrew Luck, Hilton caught over 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, including leading the league in the category in 2016.

[2] He attended Miami Springs High School and was a two-sport star in basketball and football for the Golden Hawks.

[7][8] Hilton was a starter under head coach Mario Cristobal in every year of his enrollment at FIU.

[9] To start the month of October, Hilton broke out with three receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns against North Texas.

[16] Foreshadowing the start of FIU's 2009 campaign against Alabama, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban referred to Hilton as "a better offensive player than anybody [from Virginia Tech] that we played against last week".

[23] He was also instrumental in a late hook and lateral play on a 4th-and-17 situation, helping his team get the first down and keeping them alive to eventually set up the winning field goal.

He was named the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl MVP for his efforts in helping his team beat Toledo by a score of 34–32.

[27] In 2011, Hilton got off to a hot start in his senior season, putting up a school record 283 all-purpose yards in FIU's rout of the North Texas Mean Green.

[28] A week later, Hilton was instrumental in FIU's 24–17 upset of the Louisville Cardinals, with 74 and 83 yard catches for touchdowns.

During a Week 12 game against the Buffalo Bills, Hilton returned a punt for 75 yards and later caught an eight-yard touchdown pass.

[42] Hilton began the 2013 season as the third wide receiver on the depth chart, behind veterans Reggie Wayne and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

[43] Hilton had a career-high day for yardage against the Seattle Seahawks top-ranked pass defense in a Week 5 game.

[45] Due to the season-ending ACL tear by Reggie Wayne in Week 7 and low production from Darrius Heyward-Bey, Hilton became the number one receiving target for the team.

In the Week 9 game against the Houston Texans that immediately followed Wayne's injury, Hilton's 121 receiving yards and three touchdowns contributed to a fourth-quarter comeback.

[67] In Week 5 against the Chicago Bears, Hilton had 10 receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown to help the Colts win 29–23.

[72] He joined Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Roger Carr, and Raymond Berry as the only Colts in team history to lead the NFL in receiving yards.

[75] In Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, Hilton caught seven passes for 153 yards and a 61-yard touchdown to help the Colts win 31–28.

[76] In Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers, Hilton caught seven passes for 177 yards to help the Colts win 26–23 in overtime.

[82] In Week 4 against the Houston Texans, Hilton caught four passes for 115 yards in a 37–34 overtime loss.

[85] During a Texans rematch in Week 14, Hilton finished with 199 receiving yards as the Colts won 24–21.

[89] In the Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, he had four receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown.

[92] During the season-opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Hilton caught eight passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns from Jacoby Brissett in the 24–30 overtime loss.

[98] In Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans, Hilton recorded four catches for 81 yards, including his first touchdown reception of the season, during the 45–26 loss.

[108] On December 12, 2022, after going unsigned all offseason and most of the regular season, Hilton signed with the Dallas Cowboys.