CINCINNATI (WXIX) - For the third time in his four-year NFL career, Dax Hill is learning a new position.
After playing all of a complex college defense at Michigan, Hill was a free safety for the first two years of his NFL career. Heading into 2024, the Bengals asked Hill to move to outside cornerback.
Now heading into 2025, Hill is majoring in the slot and is preparing to replace Mike Hilton as the team’s nickel corner.
“It’s an adjustment again, but I’m doing my job and trying to execute at a high level,” Hill said. “I had an open mind. They were hinting at it in the offseason. I want to make the most of it. I’ll continue to stay true to who I am. It’s a position change again, but it’s what they think of me. I’m making the most of every opportunity. Being versatile is a good thing so the offense doesn’t know what you’re doing. It’s definitely a pro. You can’t scheme as much against it.”
The Bengals’ preseason opener provided a reminder of how important the cornerback position will be for the Bengals this season. As Hill and Cam Taylor-Britt missed the game, DJ Turner, Josh Newton and DJ Ivey all allowed some of the game’s biggest plays in man coverage.
That theme matches what’s been going on in training camp, where sticky coverage from cornerbacks has been the defense’s best path to stopping the Bengals’ passing attack.
Hill is a critical piece of the Bengals’ plan to improve the defense this year. It’s a group that has more floor raisers than players with high ceilings. Hill’s ceiling is as high as anyone on that unit’s.
“Dax Hill, to me, is a guy that can cover at an elite level,” cornerbacks coach Charles Burks said. “He can blitz at an elite level. He can tackle at an elite level. He’s the ultimate chess piece. I never want to look at Dax and talk about position. I want to talk about how we can use him best to get the most out of his skill set. That’s the appropriate way to approach him. Because he brings so much to the table, you have to really get that all out of him.”
Hill is a slot corner by name, but he also offers the Bengals a skill set that they haven’t had that role over the previous few seasons.
Mike Hilton was a terrific Bengal, and they wouldn’t have accomplished what they did in 2021 and 2022 without him. But Hilton is a smaller corner who couldn’t move outside and offered less versatility in coverage.
Hill has the skill set to play at any of the positions in the Bengals’ secondary.
Under former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, roles in the secondary were very defined. The free safety, whether it was Jessie Bates, Hill or Geno Stone, was the free safety. The strong safety was the strong safety. Hilton was in the slot.
While the Bengals brought back their cornerbacks and safeties coaches this season, the way that the Bengals use defensive backs is evolving.
“These guys aren’t positions for me,” Burks said. “They have skill sets. I have to figure out how to use their skill sets the best.”
On offense, the two schematic stories of the 2024 Bengals season were Ja’Marr Chase’s increased usage in the slot as well as the matchup nightmare that Mike Gesicki created over the middle of the field. The Bengals held the cards when they ran those concepts.
The best way to counter playmakers like that over the middle of the field is having a nickel corner like Hill who can handle whatever the opposing team throws at the defense over the middle of the field.
“Dax is a phenomenal football player,” Burks said. “I’ve been around a lot of good defensive backs. He has the traits to really make an impact. You saw a little bit of that last year.”
Hill had a very promising 2024 season in the five games he played before suffering the season-ending torn ACL.
Burks points to Hill’s performance in the preseason opener. In Hill’s first ever game as an outside corner, he made four plays on the ball. It was only the preseason, but he showed something with his confidence.
While Hill didn’t fill up the stat sheet in Week 2 last season against the Chiefs, Burks raves about how strong Hill was in man coverage that day against Patrick Mahomes.
Then in Week 5 against the Ravens, Hilton was out due to injury. The Bengals threw Hill into the slot for a day in a matchup against another elite offense.
“That was his best game,” Burks said.
The seed was planted. Hill ended up tearing his ACL in that game, but he was all over the field before he got hurt.
During training camp, Hill has received his first real opportunity to practice in the slot. It’s a good sign that Joe Burrow hasn’t really tested him or seen many chances to throw over the middle against Hill in coverage.
“I’m playing pretty well,” Hill said. “I want to get my hands on the ball, but I’m doing my assignment. That’s most important. Being on the same page as the defense. I want that action to be prepared for the game. It’s good to not be thrown at, but you’d think they’ll come at you fresh off of injury.”
While it hasn’t all played out yet, there could be opportunities for Hill to move around the formation during the season. The Bengals will match two tight end sets with three linebackers, leaving two cornerbacks on the field and no one in the slot. Hill could be an option to move out wide on those early downs.
Third downs will be the wild west in the Bengals’ secondary this season. Personnel groupings could be very matchup dependant. Hill has the ability to play in the slot, out wide or against tight ends.
“There are moving pieces for sure,” Hill said. “They want the best cover guys out there.”
Hill has proven that he’s one of them, and the Bengals have shown that they view Hill in that regard. Even though he had barely played cornerback and was coming off of a torn ACL, the front office decided in May to exercise the $12 million fifth-year option in Hill’s contract for the 2026 season.
“That’s a sign, too,” Hill said. “In the midst of everything, they see the potential in me.”
The main thing for Hill right now is getting back to 100% coming off of his torn ACL.
Joe Burrow, Chidobe Awuzie, Tycen Anderson and Ivey are recent examples of Bengals who tore their ACLs and weren’t flying around the field as well as they’re able to in their first few games back.
The Bengals are still managing Hill through camp, and he’s not taking every single rep during competitive drills.
“I’m being patient and letting things come to me,” Hill said. “I don’t let the pace of training camp sway my game. I’ll be patient and take it day by day.”
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