Dax Hill Shining Bright for Bengals After Offseason Full of Safety Questions

The 22-year-old leads the team with 26 tackles and four tackles for loss in three games.

Author:
Blake Jewell
Publish date:
Sep 27, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

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The Bengals defense shined on Monday night, helping the team get their first win of the 2023 season.

Second-year safety Dax Hill was one of the standouts on defense. He led the team in tackles (8) and chipped in with some huge plays that gave Cincinnati the crucial win. A big-time sack in the second quarter and a couple tackles for loss helped pave the way for the Bengals defense.

Although Hill was a first round pick, he flew under the radar as a rookie, playing behind star safety Jessie Bates.

Let's take a look at Hill’s rookie season and break down how he projects to help the Bengals defense moving forward.

After the Bengals historic 2021 season, they approached the draft with holes at offensive line and defensive line. With star safeties Bates and Vonn Bell on the roster, not many fans were thinking safety would be a priority in the 2022 offseason.

However, anticipating the departure of Bates the following season, the Bengals took Hill with the 31st pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was the top player remaining on their board. His versatility and athleticism were two key traits that the Bengals loved. After racking up 149 tackles and four interceptions at Michigan, he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine to solidify himself as one of the top safeties in the draft.

With Bates and Bell on the roster, Hill would have to wait a season to get a starting role.

Hill did earn some time on the field his rookie season, playing 130 regular season snaps on defense and contributing 167 snaps on special teams. Defensively, Hill was given an overall grade of 58.1 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie. He did earn a solid run defense grade of 71.5.

A big reason Hill had a questionable rookie season could be due to all the different roles the Bengals put him in. The free safety is typically the deep zone coverage guy and the strong safety plays in the box and is tasked with more man coverage on tight ends or in the slot. In the Bengals defense, the safety position is fluid. They move their safeties around and even though they have the free and strong safety positions, they rarely keep the same safety in a singular role.

In 2022, Hill played 71 snaps in the slot, which accounted for 54.6% of his snaps, while only playing 13% of his snaps at free safety. He also took snaps at outside cornerback—both in practice and in games. In comparison, he has played 55.4% of his snaps at free safety through three games in 2023 and only 18% of his snaps have been in the slot. In 2022, Bates played 70% of his snaps at free safety. Hill has been able to play safety this season.

Although versatile, I consider free safety to be the position he is best at. Even playing over half his snaps there, he’s still moving around in the box and into the slot, which is ideal for how the Bengals defense operates. I think as the 2023 season goes on, his snap percentage at free safety will rise a bit but he will continue to move around the secondary.

Hill has been a quality defensive back so far this season. He started off by giving up only one reception on three targets for six yards against the Browns in Week 1. He had some issues in coverage in Week 3 against the Rams, but made some big plays including the sack and a huge tackle for loss.

Hill's growth is important and it seems like he's growing every time he steps on the field. Even with an off game in coverage, he’s been able to be a playmaker for this Bengals defense. He’s recorded four pressures on quarterbacks, made four tackles for loss, and intercepted Deshaun Watson in Week 1.

Hill will still move around the secondary as this season goes on, but look for him to step up more and more as a playmaker for this defense.

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