Bengals training camp: Familiar face thriving in new role on defense

A familiar face is thriving in a new role in Cincinnati's secondary early on in training camp. Sure, there have only been a handful of practices at camp so far, but a small sample size is still a sample size. Now, he just needs to keep it up.

Dax Hill's shift from safety to cornerback is going well

Third-year player Dax Hill has been given the tough task of shifting from safety to cornerback, and he's been crushing it. His work at corner so far has Cincinnati's coaching staff buzzing about his potential at the position.

"I've told a few people in the building, I feel like we drafted a first-round corner this year. ... He's been doing a great job," Bengals quarterback coach Chuck Burks said of Hill. "I have no questions about his production and the kind of year he's going to have. We just got to continue to progress, improve and stay consistent."

Hill played some cornerback in college with the University of Michigan, so the position isn't completely foreign to him, but it's still an adjustment. When asked about the change last month, Hill was very positive and optimistic.

"It's been great so far," Hill said. "Obviously a transition that I've been stacking every day, trying to learn something new every day and critiquing myself whether it's good or bad, and really I feel like my transition from safety to corner's really helped me in terms of just knowing certain calls, say a moving piece on offense happens knowing certain calls or checks to get into."

Hill certainly seems to have the speed and athleticism to thrive on the corner, and that has stood out on certain plays during training camp, like this pass break-up that he had while defending wide receiver Tee Higgins:

The move to cornerback makes sense on paper for the Bengals. The team added two solid safeties in free agency in Vonn Bell and Geno Stone, and with the development of second-year safety Jordan Battle, there just wasn't much room for Hill at the position.

Hill might get more of an opportunity to contribute at cornerback, providing some depth behind Cam Taylor-Britt and D.J. Turner. Overall, Cincinnati's secondary appears much more formidable than it was last season, on paper at least.

Hill is wise to embrace the change too, as it could be his ticket to more playing time and potentially even extending his tenure in Cincinnati.