Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dax Hill publicly pleaded his case to stay on the boundary earlier this offseason, and head coach Zac Taylor received the message. After starting last year at nickelback, Hill pivoted to the perimeter and showed his excellent form there in 2024 was no fluke.
Thus, Taylor demystified the confusion surrounding Dax's dubious role ahead of the new season during the Bengals' media luncheon. Hill had to only be half-kidding back in May when he said it'd be ideal for his mental health to not bounce around to a different position yet again.
In the ensuing months, Cincinnati's leadership was radio silent as far as clarifying Hill's positional status. Thank goodness that's changed now.
Zac drops the facts on Dax’s boundary role
We'll soon get into the hard data that proves Dax Hill is not only best suited to play on the boundary, but like his running mate DJ Turner, also deserves a contract extension. Before that is the business at hand: Zac Taylor's comments that give Bengals fans a collective catharsis as veterans report to training camp, via SI.com's Jay Morrison:
“Dax absolutely has grown as an outside corner…That's where we want him to play. That's absolutely where he's going to play…But there's going to be times with any corner that they go inside for coverage reasons…But again, Dax has done a really good job of growing (outside), and that's where we want to leave him."
After failing to be a viable Jessie Bates successor at safety in his second pro season, Hill looked like he'd back up his status as a 2022 first-round pick as an NFL sophomore as an outside corner. Sadly, he tore his ACL and was limited to only five games during that 2024 campaign.
When the Bengals were struggling yet again on defense this past year, Hill moved from the slot to the boundary, as Jalen Davis stepped up to be the new starting nickelback. The results were excellent.
As YouTube NFL analyst Marcus Whitman highlighted, Dax's numbers from his latest position change from Week 11 on were as follows:
- 15 receptions allowed on 30 targets, 0 TDs, 6 pass breakups
- 22.6 yards allowed per game
- 6.3% missed tackle rate
- A top-10 PFF grade among qualified cornerbacks in that span
Is that any good? Perhaps extension-worthy?
And mind you, most players take a little time to get their sea legs back under them on the gridiron after recovering from a torn ACL. Dax seems to be an exception, as is Joe Burrow, whose devastating, knee injury back in 2020 preceded a, you know, ho-hum run to Super Bowl LVI.
In other words, there's reason to believe Hill could be even better in 2026 as he plays out the string on the fifth-year option from his rookie contract.
Should Hill maintain the trajectory of his most recent high-level performance, the Bengals giving him a new deal now could save them a lot of money down the road. Guess we'll see.
Much of the buzz about the Bengals' expected improvement on defense stems from the blockbuster Dexter Lawrence trade. That makes a lot of sense. In the secondary, Turner's next contract is a primary focus of offseason narratives, as is the addition of two-time Chiefs Super Bowl champ Bryan Cook at safety.
Let's not sleep on Hill, though. We could soon be living in a world where Cincinnati has not one, but two No. 1-caliber cover cornerbacks in Dax and DJ.
If the Bengals' defense has their own elite 1-2 punch at a premium position, just like the offense has at wide receiver with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, this core has the makings of a perennial Super Bowl contender.
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