Cincinnati Bengals Superstar Defender Buried in Depth Chart After Bizarre 2024 Free Agency Window

Even after the team lost their most productive player nose tackle D.J. Reader to the Detroit Lions during the free agency window, the team’s offseason strategy has been a little peculiar.  While their situational stats (third-down percentage and red zone percentage) have remained spectacular under defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, any knowledgeable fan can tell that the team’s biggest issue last season was tackling.

What made this team successful defensively in 2022 was excellent tackling and forced tackles but that trend definitely evaporated going into 2023.  The biggest indicator of that is star inside linebacker Germaine Pratt whose Pro Football Focus score dropped from a career-best rating of 80.6 in 2022 to 63.3 in 2023.  The obvious solution for Cincinnati should have been to bring in a force on the defensive interior this offseason and drill tackling throughout the training camp and preseason windows.

In a strange but incredibly Mike Brown-esque way, the front office decided that focusing on the back end was the real solution.  During the first few weeks of free agency, Cincinnati landed talented former Ravens free safety Geno Stone and former Bengal Vonn Bell to improve the safety position.  While both of these contracts are fairly risk-free for the team (Stone is essentially on a 1-year contract worth 7.5 million dollars while Bell is on a flat 1-year contract worth 1.2 million dollars), they crowd a position that the team already addressed last offseason.

After the team lost Super Bowl LVI in 2022, the team pulled off the steal of the draft when they acquired free safety Dax Hill with the 31st overall pick.  On top of that, the organization brought in strong safety Jordan Battle in the third round last offseason for a pair of young and talented safeties.  Battle, for example, closed out last season with a PFF overall grade of 82.5 which was good enough for eight best amongst NFL safeties.

Hill, unfortunately, struggled during his first season of regular time with a dismal PFF coverage grade of 43.0.  Stats don’t always tell the full story as Hill was frequently forced into single coverage in bad situations that really hurt his overall grade.  If he was given the opportunity to play free safety and not be relied upon to cover for a much younger secondary, he would likely be able to play at a much higher level.

Fortunately for Hill, this young group of corners is getting another year older as emerging stars Cam Taylor-Britt and D.J. Turner are expected to return as the bookend corners on the outside.  With more experience under their belts, Hill will have a greater opportunity to do what he excelled at in college: playing center field and making plays on the ball.

At the very least, Hill appears to be taking the right approach when he said that he is going to play his best at whichever position the team puts him in.  The full interview is shown below where Hill addressed his reaction to the crowded defensive backs room.

“Whatever happens, happens,” Hill told reporters. “I can’t control that. I’ll do whatever the team wants me to do.  I did some reflection and I’m a different person whenever I came in. I feel like there are some things I need to correct, and I’m looking forward to the new year.”

The major problem is that with Stone and Bell coming in, Hill will struggle mightily for playing time on in the defensive backfield.  While there will be a position battle in training camp, I would presume that Stone and Battle will be the designated starters going into the regular season.  Many fans have thrown out the possibility of Hill playing more at the corner position but with the two young corners on the outside and established veteran Mike Hilton on the inside, Hill will only be able to be on the field in obvious passing situations.

Even though Hill had a rough first season as the starting free safety, his pedigree out of college should allow him another season to grow into Anarumo’s system.  With Stone and Bell joining the roster, it is expected that Hill will fall into a complete backup role.  A backup role will almost guarantee that Hill leaves the team after the 2025 season and another Bengals first-round pick will have been squandered away.