The Bengals are back at it again with Dax Hill, and it feels like they’re making the same mistake twice.
Cincinnati’s latest depth chart puts Hill in the slot as the No. 1 nickel, a move that comes after Jalen Davis’ injury left the secondary scrambling. The staff may not trust practice squad nickelback Bralyn Lux.
Josh Newton, even though he’s listed as the backup nickel, appears to be out of favor. But whatever the reasoning, the result is the same: Hill is being moved away from the spot where he’s looked best.
That’s the part that makes this so frustrating. Hill has been a boundary corner who actually looks like a difference-maker there. The Bengals already went through this once, back in Week 1 last season, when they had him playing out of position and hoping for the best opposite DJ Turner on the perimeter.
Hill has never exactly hidden how he feels about the slot, either. Back in May, he wasn’t even sure whether he’d remain on the outside or get shoved back inside. He hoped, for the sake of both his development and mental health, that he’d stay put on the boundary.
Staying at outside corner is “ideal” for the mental health of Dax Hill. pic.twitter.com/peUXc23kLS
- Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 5, 2026
The path that got Hill here has been messy. When Cincinnati drafted him in the first round in 2022, he was supposed to be the answer at safety after Jessie Bates.
That never happened. He struggled badly at safety once Bates was gone in 2023, then finally found traction after moving to outside corner.
The problem was that his 2024 season ended with an ACL tear.
Last season, the Bengals didn’t really get serious about making the switch until Cam Taylor-Britt’s off-field issues and eventual season-ending injury forced their hand. That opened the door for Jalen Davis to settle in at nickel and for Hill to return to his natural spot.
From there, the numbers told the story. Once Hill moved to outside corner in Week 11, he allowed just 15 catches on 30 targets, gave up only 22.6 yards per game, and posted six pass breakups with no touchdowns allowed. He was graded as a top-10 corner by PFF and missed just two tackles.
Bengals moved Dax Hill to Outside CB in Week 11.
From that point on:
- Allowed just 15 Rec on 30 targets (50% Rec % Ranked 9th/61st)
- Allowed just 22.6 Yards Per Game
- 6 PBUs to 0 TDs Allowed
- PFFs 10th Rated CB
- Just 2 Missed Tackles (6.3% Ranked 11th/61 CBs)
- Marcus Whitman (@TFG_Football) March 2, 2026
Even this season, PFF has Hill allowing only a 72.3 passer rating, and 134 of his 199 snaps have come at boundary corner. So it’s not as if he’s been a pure outside player and nothing else. But the evidence is pretty clear: that’s where he’s most comfortable and most effective.
Now the Bengals have to sort through the fallout of that decision. D.J.
Ivey is apparently the next man up in Hill’s place. He’s a solid player and had a strong camp that pushed Newton down the depth chart, but he’s still a seventh-round pick, not a high-end athlete with Hill’s upside.
There’s at least a chance this is temporary. Cincinnati has an early Week 6 bye, and the next opponent before that is the Miami Dolphins. That gives the staff some breathing room.
Still, the Bengals can’t afford to turn this into another Ja’Sir Taylor situation. Taylor was brought in this offseason as nickel depth, but he’s carrying a 19.6% missed tackle rate and a 112.9 career passer rating allowed. If he ends up being the answer in the slot for any meaningful stretch, that’s trouble.
For now, Cincinnati is thin, banged up, and trying to patch together the back end after the Week 3 loss in Pittsburgh. Kyle Dugger and Bryan Cook also left that game injured, which only makes the secondary picture look even shakier. The Bengals are hoping this is a short-term fix.
They’re also hoping, probably more than anything, that they don’t keep forcing Dax Hill into the same wrong role over and over again.
In Other News...
Bengals Linebacker Struggles Just Reopened A Familiar Reunion Debate
After a rough defensive showing, a familiar name popped right back into the conversation for Cincinnati. Germaine Pratt, the former Bengals linebacker and team captain, responded on social media to fan chatter about bringing him back, reminding everyone that his connection to the franchise never really faded even after he moved on to the Raiders and Colts last season.
The backdrop here is a linebacker room that could use some steadiness, especially with a young group still trying to find its footing. Pratt spent part of the offseason as a coaching assistant, which only added to the sense that a reunion would not be a wild idea, but a practical one if Cincinnati wants more veteran leadership in the middle of the defense. [Read more 🡒]
Andrei Iosivas Rumored Relationship Just Sparked A Very Relatable Bengals Complaint
Andrei Iosivas has become part of an offseason conversation in Cincinnati for more than what he does on the field. Reports tying the Bengals wide receiver to social media influencer Gia Duddy have circulated since training camp, and Duddys own posts have added fuel to the chatter, including a vlog from the teams practice facility and a glimpse at her life around the city.
What has resonated most with Bengals fans, though, is a complaint that feels almost too familiar in an NFL town: Duddy said she has been frustrated by losing friends because of trades. It is the kind of side effect that comes with the leagues constant churn, and it has only amplified the attention around a relationship neither the Bengals nor the people involved have confirmed publicly. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Have A Growing Dexter Lawrence Concern Officials Arent Fixing
Through the first three games, Dexter Lawrence has already become a problem teams are trying to solve with extra bodies and creative protection plans, and the Bengals have noticed how much attention the disruptive defensive tackle is drawing. Opposing offenses have leaned on double teams to slow him down, a sign of how quickly he can wreck a game when he gets free.
The bigger concern came from the Steelers, who used a blocking technique that involved grabbing and lifting Lawrences leg, a tactic that appears to run afoul of NFL holding rules and carries obvious injury risk. Lawrence and the Bengals have raised the issue, but the lack of a flag has left the door open to whether other teams will try it too, and whether officials will eventually step in before it becomes a wider problem. [Read more 🡒]