Day: April 30, 2024

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Dax Hill in the first round in 2022 to be their eventual starting safter. After a turbulent 2023 campaign, the club re-evaluated his situation.

Over the weekend, head coach Zac Taylor told reporters that plan is to move Hill from safety to cornerback.

“We’ve seen it from him and we think it’s the best opportunity right now to help our team,” Taylor said, via Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Hill’s struggles as a full-time starter caused Cincinnati to sign Geno Stone and bring back Vonn Bell in free agency. The former Michigan produced suffered miscommunication breakdowns and, despite impressive speed, could not make game-changing plays.

Hill has experience from playing at Michigan as an outside and nickel corner. The Bengals expect him to fight for playing time with second-year outside corner DJ Turner on the outside opposite Cam Taylor-Britt and Mike Hilton as the nickel cornerback.

“One of the reasons you took him was because of all the various things you’d seen on tape from him,” Taylor said. “He’s a superb athlete, he’s got great size, and he did a good amount of coverage at Michigan, playing inside covering slots, played some outside. The versatility is what made him the pick that he was. We’re really excited for his future. He has done a tremendous job embracing this opportunity, and I’m excited to see him go out there and compete.”

A first-round pick who needs to struggle for a starting job was not the plan when Cincinnati drafted Hill in 2022, but the fault is on the club for not tightening their belts and hoping things would just work out.

The New England Patriots made a huge post-draft splash by extending their contract with Christian Barmore.

New England has agreed to terms on a four-year extension with defensive tackle Barmore worth up to $92 million, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported according to sources who knew about the deal.

The Boston Herald first reported news of the extension.

Barmore was headed into the final year of his rookie contract. The 2021 second-round pick is locked in New England through the 2028 season.

Christian has been a rising star in the Patriots’ ranks for several seasons. Although he has started only 11 games in three seasons, he has had a starter-like impact on New England’s defence. Barmore is off a career-high 8.5 sacks in 2023 and generated 53 QB pressures, per Nex Gen Stats, 11th most among all interior defenders. 

New England spent most of its draft capital upgrading an offence that desperately needed help. In the aftermath of the selection process, the Patriots’ new brass secured the future of the interior D-line with a huge payday.