Vonn Bell, Jordan Battle rotating at safety; Dax Hill working at cornerback

The Cincinnati Bengals secondary struggled at times in 2023, largely thanks to inexperience at the safety position. Dax Hill struggled as Jessie Bates’ replacement, and Nick Scott was completely ineffective, eventually being replaced by rookie Jordan Battle.

The team focused on the safety position this offseason by signing Geno Stone and bringing Bell back to Cincinnati. They’ve also officially moved Hill to cornerback in hopes of utilizing his skill set in a way he can be more effective.

According to Charlie Clifford, Bell was taking starting snaps at safety over Battle, and DJ Turner was taking snaps at starting outside corner opposite Cam Taylor-Britt ahead of Hill.

Also, Mike Petraglia reported that Battle was taking first-team reps over Bell.

It’s obvious that Lou Anarumo and Co. are rotating people around to figure out who will be where when it really matters.

Despite being a rookie, Battle excelled in pass coverage in 2023. He had the highest coverage grade of any safety on the team (the bar wasn’t high) at 76.4 (18th best of all players at the position, according to PFF). In his 305 snaps, he logged two pass breakups and one interception, allowing a single touchdown.

After adding Bell and Stone, the Bengals have three serviceable safeties, and it’s clear they’re rotating who they want to start, it seems, next to Stone.

At the corner position, it should be no surprise that Turner is taking snaps over Hill. Turner started every game except one after Week 4 and finished with a coverage grade of 48.4, per PFF.

It will be interesting to see what the starting lineup will look like in the secondary. At cornerback, one would think it would be Turner and CTB on the outside and Mike Hilton in the slot. It is unclear, though, as to who the fourth corner would be. It could be Hill, but it could also be DJ Ivey or rookie Josh Newton. At the same time, though, Hill is a former first-round pick and an incredible athlete. To have a defense where he just doesn’t see the field seems like a waste to me.

At safety, things could get much more interesting. They have three capable starters, two of which know the system, but those two, Bell and Battle, are competing with each other. There could be new defensive alignments that get the three of them on the field at the same time, or maybe they’ll rotate to keep everyone fresh and healthy deep into the season.

Either way, the 2024 Bengals secondary should be a big improvement over its 2023 version.