Jordan Kovacs on Finding Dax Hill's Ideal Role: 'Somewhere on The Back End'

The Bengals are evaluating the best position path forward for young safety Dax Hill and safeties coach Jordan Kovacs discussed that scenario with the media this week.

It would be crazy to move Hill into an already strong slot corner spot manned by Mike Hilton (on top of the permanent fit issues there), but Hill has shown to be the Bengals' best defender against tight ends. He's also been more impactful playing closer to the line of scrimmage.

"He definitely has a very valuable skill set," Kovacs said about Hill. "He can run, he can cover and those are things that are invaluable in this league. So, I would say that you can start with that, right? Those are things that are invaluable and you just got to put him in the best position to make plays, whether that's safety whether that's at corner, nickel, I don't know, but somewhere on the back end."

Cincinnati played in dime packages (six DBs) at an above-average rate compared to the rest of the league in 2023. Adding even more of it would play into a hybrid role for Hill and help them get their best mix of defenders on the field.