The Cincinnati Bengals invested a first-round draft pick in DB Dax Hill in 2022. Just two years later, after a full season as a starter, the defense doesn’t seem to know where he’ll play. After all, they just turned over their safety room yet again. They signed Geno Stone as a free safety from the Baltimore Ravens, and they reunited with Vonn Bell. If they are the starters, where is Hill playing?
“His development and his upside is huge”, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said in February about Hill. “Nobody is down on the guy at all. We just have to make sure that he’s honed in and making sure that he’s being able to do the things we’re asking him to do — wherever that may be”.
The good news for Hill, of course, is the fact that he is a versatile player in the secondary. Even last season, he played about 25 percent of his snaps in the box or near the line of scrimmage. He logged roughly another 20 percent of his snaps in the slot or as a wide corner. The remainder of his playing time stationed him at free safety—but they just signed Stone to a two-year, $14 million contract.
And don’t forget that the Bengals have Mike Hilton installed as their slot defender. They picked him up from the Steelers three years ago, so this isn’t a new wrinkle. And as talented as he is, Hill isn’t going to start on the outside at cornerback.
If we assume that Bell and Stone are the Bengals’ starting safety pair, and Hill isn’t starting in the slot over Hilton, then where is there for him left to play? Granted, we can’t take as a given that these are the decisions they’ll reach in September. You can always find room for a talented player who isn’t in the starting lineup.
But it is something the Bengals coaching staff is going to have to figure out this offseason. The best-case scenario is that he comes in and simply wins a starting job by demonstrating his growth. He struggled as a deep defender last year, one of the big reasons they ranked toward the bottom in passing defense, giving up a league-worst 7.1 net yards per pass attempt.
According to Ben Baby of ESPN, head coach Zac Taylor says the Bengals still view him as a safety, but do they have a job for him there? Obviously, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, they can employ three-safety packages, which I’m sure they will.
In 17 games last year, Hill did record 110 tackles for the Bengals with six tackles for loss. He added two interceptions with 11 passes defensed, and managed a couple sacks as well. Statistically, he gives you nothing to complain about. But when he’s blowing coverages and making your cornerbacks look bad, you need to do something. The Bengals did this offseason by signing Bell and Stone. It’s now incumbent upon Hill to force his way back onto the field.
