As disjointed as the Cincinnati Bengals' defense has looked all season, and really since the dawn of the 2024 campaign, one underrated bright spot has persisted.
The obvious superstar on this team is Trey Hendrickson, who the front office can't pay enough every year. Sadly, he's dealt with an injury of late that has his status in doubt even ahead of Week 12's matchup against the heavily favored New England Patriots.
Cincinnati's draft history hasn't had its shortage of disappointments. That said, in the case of one past first-round pick, it's a little more complicated than calling him a bust.
Bengals CB Dax Hill continues trending well amid defensive dumpster fire
Dax Hill was initially drafted 30th overall in 2022 to be the eventual replacement for free safety Jessie Bates. After riding the pine for most of his rookie campaign, Hill was pressed into duty once Bates walked in free agency. It did not go well.
Failing as Bates' successor turned into what appeared to be a blessing in disguise to some degree. Hill pivoted to be a boundary cornerback in 2024 and looked quite stellar through five games.
Unfortunately, Hill suffered a torn ACL to cut his third NFL season short. Once the Bengals moved from Lou Anarumo to Al Golden as defensive coordinator, Hill was on the move again, this time switching to the slot as the team's starting nickel cornerback.
Some of that was due to DJ Turner's emergence as a lockdown corner on the outside. Plus, Hill was used to playing at that spot in college at Michigan.
It's been a bit of an up-and-down 2025 for Hill, yet over the past two weeks, he's looked quite good. Per PFF, the 25-year-old was the Bengals' top-graded defender at 78.6 in Week 11's defeat to the Steelers.
Over the last two games, Hill has yielded just 42 yards and six completions on 11 attempts, good for a 63.5 passer rating allowed. He's also made 11 total tackles with two misses.
One hidden subplot to the Pittsburgh game was the fact that Hill lined up on the boundary on 31 snaps and in the slot for 22 reps. It's little coincidence that he had his best game of the season, as the Bengals countered the Steelers' penchant for heavy personnel/multiple tight ends by deploying three linebackers often.
Given his inside-outside versatility, his obvious comfort on the perimeter, and his superior tackling to basically everyone in the Bengals secondary, Hill's positive trends suggest he could net a second contract in Cincinnati. What a relief that'd be given such a poor draft history.
My last Bengals mock draft had them selecting Kamari Ramsey out of USC to start at either safety or slot corner. The latter scenario would push Hill outside, and really help Cincinnati on the back end.