How D.J. Ivey is quietly forcing his way into the Bengals' secondary conversation

D.J. Ivey entered Cincinnati Bengals training camp as a player with very little room for error.  In a crowded cornerback room featuring established starters, a promising rookie and multiple veterans competing for snaps, the former seventh-round pick appeared to be fighting simply to keep his place on the roster.

A few weeks later, that conversation is beginning to change.

With Dax Hill sidelined by hamstring tightness, Ivey has taken advantage of extended first-team opportunities and reportedly held up well while covering Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Instead of fighting merely to survive roster cuts, Ivey may not be forcing Cincinnati to reconsider where he belongs in the secondary.

Ivey entered camp with everything to prove

D.J. Ivey was Cincinnati’s 246th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.  His rookie season ended with a knee injury, and he had to work his way back during 2024. The Bengals’ official bio credits him with earning his original roster spot after an impressive 2023 preseason in which he led Cincinnati with three passes defended.

But entering this summer, the cornerback room looked crowded. You had: DJ Turner II, Dax Hill, Jalen Davis, Josh Newton, Tacario Davis, Ja’Sir Taylor, and Ivey.

Earlier this offseason, Stipe Hype’s own Matt Fitzgerald had Ivey as a possible cut for the final 53-man roster.

Nothing about Ivey’s position seemed secure when camp began.  He wasn’t competing to become Cincinnati’s No. 1 corner. He was competing to make sure there was still a place for him at all.

Opportunity arrived when Dax Hill went down

Hill’s hamstring issue created additional first-team reps for Ivey and rookie Tacario Davis.  Ivey appears to have made particularly good use of those runs.

Here is Ivey working out on an island with Tee:

The big thing that Ivey has been able to do during camp is to stay in step with the starters, which is difficult to do when you have the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on that side of the ball.

Injuries create openings every training camp for players to step up. The important part is what a player does after that.

Ivey hasn’t simply filled Hill’s spot in practice. He has begun making the coaching staff notice what he’s doing with the time.

Chase and Higgins are the ultimate test for Ivey's coverage skills

Anyone can have a good rep against the bottom of the training camp roster. Ivey is getting work against one of the best receiver duos in the league.

Is there really a better daily examination of a Bengals cornerback than trying to cover Chase and Higgins with Joe Burrow throwing the football.

Here is Ivey working against Chase:

And Tee has given Ivey praise on how he has pushed the star receiver to be better. 

“He’s gotten me better. He’s really pushed me,” Higgins said talking about the contests between him and Ivey. That’s high praise coming from one of the league’s premier wide receivers.

Obviously, practice isn’t a game, but if a corner consistently stays competitive against that duo, coaches learn something.

Ivey has proven that he doesn’t panic if he is beaten initially and is continuing to remain in phase vertically while playing the ball.  His recovery speed has also allowed him to continue to make an impact when it comes to competing at the catch point.

He doesn’t have to win every rep against Cincinnati’s receivers. He simply has to prove that repetitive reps against arguably the best one two punch in the NFL doesn’t overwhelm him.

First Bengals depth chart suggests the team is digging the other D.J.

Cincinnati’s first depth chart for the preseason tells an interesting story.  It has D.J. Ivey as the backup nickel corner behind Jalen Davis. Meanwhile, Josh Newton has slipped down to third string.

What makes this interesting is Ivey has traditionally been viewed as more of a boundary corner. Maybe the Bengals are trying to test out his versatility.

If Ivey can play boundary corner, nickel, and special teams, all of a sudden, his value sky rockets. In the NFL, the fourth or fifth corner usually isn’t just a backup at one spot, they have several jobs. Versatility may ultimately matter more to Ivey’s roster chances than any single pass breakup.

Ivey could be changing the Josh Newton conversation too

Josh Newton was widely viewed as being ahead of Ivey early in the offseason.  Now? Newton is listed as a third-string corner while Ivey moved up to the backup nickel. That doesn’t mean that Newton is getting cut, it simply means that the competition is fiercer that we initially expected.

Training camp battles rarely happen in isolation.  Every extra look Ivey earns is potentially one fewer for somebody else, right now Newton may be feeling that pressure the most.

After the game on Thursday against Detroit, there could be another shuffle.

Preseason Week 1 game vs. Lions gives Ivey some time to shine

Practice has got him noticed, now he needs to translate it against another team. Ivey will going up against unfamiliar receivers with routes that may look different than he is used to.  Can he hold himself together and keep composure when he gets beat on the first step?  Can he make the tackle? Now mistakes will have actual consequences, and he will have to do everything he can to not let the moment overwhelm him.

D.J. Ivey has changed the conversation around his situation in training camp.  How he performs in the preseason will determine where he is sitting on the depth chart in November.

Ivey still has work to do. A strong stretch of practices doesn’t guarantee a roster spot, and Cincinnati’s cornerback room remains crowded.

But that’s also what makes training camp noteworthy.  Ivey began the summer as a former seventh-round pick who appeared vulnerable when roster cuts arrived. He now has first-team reps, a favorable spot on an early depth chart and a rather clear runway to turn his momentum into something more.

D.J. Ivey came into camp trying to keep his job. He may leave it forcing the Bengals to find him one.

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