Bengals Film Room: An In-Depth Look at Dax Hill's Preseason Performance

The rookie has been impressive.

Mike Santagata | Aug 31, 2022

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Cincinnati Bengals

Dax Hill is off to a nice start after the Bengals took him with the 31st overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The former Michigan safety was all over the field and ended with the highest Pro Football Focus grade for any first round defender.

Hill showed off his coverage abilities, as he broke up multiple passes and even came down with an interception. His versatility was one of the stand out traits when it came to drafting him and that was no different in the preseason. Let’s take a deeper look at how the Bengals used Hill and how he performed.

Man Coverage

Hill wasn't primarily a man coverage defender, but he had quite a few snaps where the Bengals allowed him to show off his man to man ability this preseason.

The Bengals let Dax Hill show off his man coverage chops against the Cardinals pic.twitter.com/XHwUvOURqz
— mike (@bengals_sans) August 14, 2022

In that cut-up against the Cardinals, Hill shows a strong understanding of his leverage and where his help is, good balance in his backpedal, acceleration, agility, and physicality. The game does not look too fast for him when he’s playing man coverage which is an excellent sign for him this season. Even on the catch that he gave up, he's in good position.

pic.twitter.com/bL70qjCVI3
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) August 30, 2022

The Bengals are playing a Cover 1 on this play with Akeem Davis-Gaither as the low hole defender. Hill is man-to-man against the tight end, running a sit route in the middle of the field. Hill does a great job to play patiently and tight to the receiver. The tight end fully extends his arm to create some extra room, which gives him just enough space to come back to the ball and make the catch. Davis-Gaither should probably be in a better position to provide Hill with help, but he was helping on the shallow route from the slot receiver. Davis-Gaither was stuck between a rock and a hard place on that play so it’s tough to criticize him too much.

This was Hill’s only catch given up in man coverage. The catch was played well and the Giants did not get a first down from it because he makes a nice tackle immediately following the catch. Hill looks like he can make an impact this season playing the Tre Flowers role of covering tight ends in man coverage. He’s less of a tell for the defense as well because he’s a very good zone defender.

Shallow Zone Coverage

When tasked with playing zone coverage closer to the line of scrimmage, Hill was able to show off some elite closing speed.

Dax Hill with elite closing speed to prevent the first down pic.twitter.com/EgONPtZt0x
— mike (@bengals_sans) August 30, 2022

On this particular play, Hill was tasked with the curl-flat zone in a spot drop Cover 3. He is essentially gaining depth and width to be the widest defender, but still in the window of a possible curl route.

Because of this, Hill is unlikely to break up a pass to the running back in the flat. However, he still wins the rep with his closing speed. Watch as he comes screaming down on the running back to make the stop. Not only does he have great athleticism on this play, but you can see his intelligence as he starts to break before the quarterback even begins his throwing motion.

All of this culminates in a great stop for the first round rookie to force a fourth down.

He is able to make spot drop zone coverage work on 3rd down because of his intelligence and athleticism.

Deep Zone Coverage

Cincinnati Bengals safety Dax Hill (23) defends Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) during Cincinnati Bengals training camp practice, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, at the Paul Brown Stadium practice fields in Cincinnati. Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp Aug 4 0033 — © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Hill has flashed some really impressive abilities from deep zones.

Dax Hill does a fantastic job to break this pass up from a deep middle of the field position. This rep is very promising for when/if he may have to take some of Jessie Bates's role in the defense. pic.twitter.com/3LqcM816E9
— mike (@bengals_sans) August 16, 2022

Again, he showcases elite closing speed on this play. He is able to quickly slam the window shut and come away with a pass breakup as the post safety. Hill is essentially playing the Jessie Bates role on this play and does so very well. The read, closing speed, and ball skills are all well on display from a position he does not have that much experience.

Speaking of ball skills, there was this play from the second preseason game:

pic.twitter.com/le9yVt8Knc
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) August 31, 2022

Hill is aligned as the post safety once again in single high coverage. While he is not doing anything crazy prior to the throw, he puts himself in great position for the interception. This play was more of an example of his awesome ball skills than it was about his ability in coverage, but it’s still notable that he made the diving interception from the deep middle of the field.

pic.twitter.com/DFAw7q4sAi
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) August 31, 2022

This play is an example of Hill’s inexperience in deep coverage. It starts off well with him melting to the first read of the quarterback, moving in the direction of the near shoulder, but then when the quarterback shifts to the outside go route, Hill is just a tick slow on his reaction. This should not be categorized as a “bad” play, because there are only a handful of safeties that can get overtop of an outside release go from single high, but it’s what would take him from being solid in deep coverage to being one of the best in the league.

pic.twitter.com/BXv7dckEQS
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) August 31, 2022

Hill seems to be gaining a little bit too much depth on this deep half. After the inside receiver breaks, the only threat to his zone is that outside receiver. It makes sense that he keeps backpedaling while the receiver is pushing vertically, but he is unable to make a play on the ball after the break because he is too far away. Ultimately, it doesn't matter because pressure arrives and forces the quarterback to bail the pocket, but it’s something that could hint toward Hill being just slightly inexperienced as a deep defender.

While he's had some ups and downs as a deep defender, there are still plenty of plays that point toward him becoming a consistent positive in this area.

pic.twitter.com/1MGiwqzfdb
— Wally the dog (@pff_wally) August 31, 2022

This is just an awesome play from the rookie to make here. He showcases that elite closing speed as the post safety once again as he makes a tackle short of the sticks. This is a glance RPO from the Giants, which is just easy money against outside leverage. If the linebackers come up, throw it. If they stay back, hand it off.

The throw and catch are easy because of the concept, but Hill still stops them short of the sticks because of his fantastic ability to close. He breaks on the play from about the 36-yard line and makes the tackle at about the 27-yard line. Turning what could have been a great play and a first down into just an OK play from the Giants. This is very good deep safety play from the former Wolverine.

Overall, Hill is an exciting prospect. We need to see him perform during the regular season, but during the preseason, he has showcased immense talent.

This is while going against true NFL talent. There are areas for improvement, if this is how he will play during his rookie season, the Bengals got a steal with the 31st pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

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