Cam Taylor-Britt and Dax Hill are ready for larger roles in the Bengals secondary

The Cincinnati Bengals offseason is about to take off with free agency opening up in the coming weeks.

For Lou Anarumo’s defense, several key defensive backs will be entering free agency including Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, and Eli Apple. With some big holes now opening up, it is now time for some of these young draft picks to take on a much larger role this coming season.

Two of those players are Cam Taylor-Britt and Dax Hill, and according to Ben Baby of ESPN, Taylor-Britt and Hill are already having conversations about anchoring the secondary next season.

“They drafted us for a reason,” Taylor-Britt said. “We got our snaps this year, rookie season. Yeah, we had our flashes, of course. But it’s time to take over. If anything, it’s going to be our room. That’s how we have to look at it.”

With both players coming off their rookie season, each showed flashes of the potential they could have with a bigger role coming in 2023-24.

For Hill, he saw most of his playing time in week 16 against Tampa Bay, as Mike Hilton was sidelined with an injury. Taylor-Britt took over the starting corner spot after Chidobe Awuzie went down with a torn ACL mid-way through the year. With experience now under their belts, it is the next man up mentality that should ultimately allow both players to succeed.

“Whenever your number is called, you have to deliver,” Hill said.

That’s what we all love to hear.