Bengals have a position battle fans didn't ask for (but can't ignore)

Cincinnati Bengals fans can count on their organization to create a problem where there doesn't need to be one.

Case in point: Investing a surplus of assets in one position, without a clear solution, and leaving the door open for someone else to take the job despite flourishing at a different position. Does that sound made-up? I swear to you, it is not.

OK enough beating around the bush. We're talking about the Bengals' nickelback situation. It would appear the post-Mike Hilton era is still in major, unnecessary flux.

Jalen Davis has inside track for nickelback job, but the Bengals are making a mess of it

Jalen Davis did a great job last year when, after years of grinding on the practice squad, he finally got a crack as the starting slot cornerback. That coincided with Cincinnati's defensive improvement down the stretch.

However, Davis only got a minimal, one-year contract this offseason. Maybe it's his past of having to earn every rep on display, but he doesn't sound like a guy who expects to start:

"You never know how it goes. I put my head forward and just keep on pushing every day. I always got the same mindset, whether I'm on practice squad, or whatever, I'm gonna put my head down forward, trying to do what I can to help this team."

That'll happen when the team goes out and signs the likes of pure nickel Ja'Sir Taylor and versatile safety Kyle Dugger. The Bengals drafted another Davis (Tacario) in the third round of this year's draft, and although he's 6'4", he could play in the slot in certain situations.

Or at least that's according to The Athletic beat reporter Paul Dehner Jr., who did a write-up on the nickelback spot that underscores how uncertain it is:

"What will the plan be at nickel? Jalen Davis starts the season as the starter, but there’s a plan for Dugger and Tacario Davis to contribute in specific situations, along with Taylor as an experienced wildcard."

It would be such high comedy if, after all this, Cincinnati went out and signed just-released Colts nickel Kenny Moore. Don't anticipate that happening, but can you imagine?

Now I hinted in the lede about how the Bengals are playing yo-yo with one of their players. That would be Dax Hill, who revealed earlier this week that Cincinnati hasn't yet told him where he'll be playing in 2026.

That's noteworthy, because Hill was the starting nickelback last season until Davis took over. Hill is best suited at boundary cornerback opposite DJ Turner. That's where he wants to play, too.

It really makes so little sense to pull Hill back to the slot and try to shoehorn Tacario Davis in as a rookie starter on the outside. Such an audacious move would be nothing more than to justify the expenditure of draft capital.

We've seen this backfire before. Barrett Carter was a fourth-round pick last year. Cincinnati is stubbornly sticking with him as the green dot linebacker despite how awful he was as a rookie.

This shouldn't be rocket science, Bengals. Start Jalen Davis at nickel. Start Dax HIll on the boundary. Don't fix what isn't broken in the secondary. Let Tacario Davis and Kyle Dugger fight for situational snaps as Al Golden sees fit. Any other approach is absolute nonsense.

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