CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Dax Hill finds himself in a familiar position.
An unsettled one.
From the moment he was drafted, the 2022 first-round pick has shifted in starting spots around the secondary as the Bengals have taken advantage of his athleticism and played him at multiple positions.
At the end of last season, Hill appeared to settle in at outside cornerback. But his career with Cincinnati is now coming full circle.
When he was drafted, the Bengals essentially selected him as a hedge against an upcoming contract situation. Ahead of this year's draft, Hill finds himself in the same two-seater boat.
Next offseason, the Bengals will have to decide if they want to give Hill and outside cornerback DJ Turner II contract extensions when market value for cornerbacks is skyrocketing. If Cincinnati took a cornerback with the 10th overall pick in this year's draft, it could hedge against losing either Hill or Turner.
That could put Hill on the move again, with another positional shift. At this year's NFL league meeting in Phoenix, Bengals coach Zac Taylor opened the door for that scenario when asked if Hill could move back to slot cornerback.
"I think it's better for me just to wait till after the draft to see how it all played out and then give you better answers on that," Taylor said on March 31.
Last year, Hill finished the year at outside cornerback opposite of Turner, a 2023 second-round pick and Hill's college teammate at Michigan. Before Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt was benched and then hurt, Hill was playing as the slot cornerback.
Starting with Week 9, the first game that Hill was officially moved to the outside in the starting lineup, he ranked 14th among all cornerbacks in yards allowed per coverage snap, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Turner was ranked seventh.
It was a strong finish to a comeback season for Hill, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury in October 2024. By the end of the year, Hill cited positional stability as reasons for his growing confidence and improved play at the position.
Heading into the final game of the season, Taylor explicitly said that Hill's best position was at outside cornerback. Hill was looking forward to preparing for that role ahead of a critical few months.
"The offseason is the time to separate yourself," Hill said on Dec. 31. "And the last couple of offseasons, it would be frustrating because I would be in a different position."
Hill has played three positions in four seasons with the Bengals -- outside cornerback, slot cornerback and safety. Hill also represents one of the biggest things that has set Cincinnati back in recent years.
When Hill was drafted in 2022, the Bengals had placed the franchise tag on Jessie Bates III, the blossoming safety who was looking for a new contract. When Hill arrived, he took Bates' reps while Bates effectively held out. In the second preseason game of 2022, Hill tallied an interception. Bates reported to camp and signed the tag two days later.
But the team didn't make a long-term commitment to Bates. He signed with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency and was an All-Pro finalist in 2023 and 2025. Meanwhile, the Bengals are now on their fourth free safety in four seasons (Hill, Nick Scott, Geno Stone, Bryan Cook).
Cincinnati will have to decide if it makes financial sense to extend two players at a premium position. The Bengals did that in 2025 with wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, a pricey move that supported quarterback Joe Burrow.
And all of that money will play a role in what happens moving forward.
Excluding traded contracts, the Bengals lead the NFL in money committed to wide receivers ($104 million guaranteed), according to OverTheCap.com. Meanwhile, the Bengals have not committed more than $100,000 in guaranteed money to a player who isn't on a rookie contract like Hill and Turner.
With the top 20 contracts among cornerbacks averaging $21.4 million a year, that could make a cornerback at No. 10 overall an appealing option. Whomever the Bengals draft at that slot will not have a cap hit higher than $10 million during the first four years of his deal.
How the Bengals approach that slot will impact Hill, Turner and the rest of Cincinnati's secondary. And if the Bengals take an outside cornerback, that could make Hill a nomad again.
If that happens, he'll be ready to adapt.
"I just want to take the next step [as a player]," Hill said on Dec. 31. "Whatever the future looks like, making sure that I'm in a good position."