CINCINNATI – One of the main topics at the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis last week was what the Cincinnati Bengals will do with 2022 first-round pick Dax Hill.
There are questions about whether Hill, who barely played as a rookie but started all 17 games last season, would be better off playing cornerback, where he could just lean on his freakish athletic ability to run and cover rather than direct.
The Bengals gave up the fourth most explosive plays in the league in 2023, and a big reason for that was youth and communication issues in the secondary, of which Hill was a part, sometimes making Day 1 mistakes in December and January.
The Cincinnati Bengals Have a Defined Role for Jordan Battle
When it comes to Hill’s running mate at safety, 2023 third-round pick Jordan Battle, the path forward is more defined.
Battle replaced free agent signee Nick Scott early in the Week 11 game at Baltimore and never looked back, starting every game the rest of the season and finishing with a bang by recording his first interception and second sack in the season finale.
“He can now go out there and know he has played effectively for a number of snaps,” defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “We still have a long way to go, but at the end of the day, there are things he has done well.
“He should and will take the next step from all of that, whether it is leadership, communication, and just continue to hone his game on different things,” Anarumo said.
Battle was a three-year starter at Alabama and played in 54 games, winning a national title in his first season as a starter in 2020.
He developed into one of the leaders on the Crimson Tide defense, but he admitted the day after his rookie season ended that it was one of the things he struggled with most as a rookie.
Battle wanted to be the vocal leader he always had been, but he knew he needed to defer to the veterans, especially when he wasn’t even starting early in the year.
Jordan Battle goes up to bat away the deep shot to Calvin Ridley!
While their was contact to Ridley’s head, no flag was thrown on the bang-bang play. pic.twitter.com/PCCkAM9pCQ
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 5, 2023
Battle said he’s looking forward to jumping into more of a leadership role in 2024, which is what the young Cincinnati secondary needs after losing Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell in free agency last spring.
Anarumo said Battle continued to improve throughout the season, even when he wasn’t starting, and it was his development as much as Scott’s struggles that led to the lineup change in November.
KEEP READING: Cincinnati Bengals Free Agency Suggestions 2024 — Sign Trent Brown, DaQuan Jones, Double Down at RB
“I just think having a better feel for what we want out of him and his position, the expectations that he has for not only himself but for the rest of the defense and that back end — where it clearly wasn’t good enough last year,” Anarumo said. “I think he’s one of those guys that kind of looks to me is saying all the right things about putting it on his shoulders to improve next year.”
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