The 2022 first-round draft pick has made flashy plays like pass breakups against Tee Higgins and a tackle for loss on Day 2 that exemplified his efforts to improve his ability to make plays at the line of scrimmage. But there have been the plays he has been beaten on where he just couldn’t make a play or was a step behind.
Those bad reps will happen. However, Hill will need to show a lot more good than bad in order to beat out DJ Turner for the second starting outside cornerback spot. Turner is off to a strong start to his second camp, while Hill said he is still trying to settle into his new role.
“I’m not timid at all,” Hill said. “I feel like I’m growing. ... It’s slowing down day by day. I’ll eventually get to where it’s just like, okay, I can really play around with what I’m doing and playing a cat and mouse game.”
It’s hard to play confident when not fully comfortable, but Hill said he feels like that will come, and when it does, “sky’s the limit.” Camp is now in full swing with the pads coming on Tuesday for the first time, so the clock is ticking.
Hill believes it’s still early enough he has time to show progress each step of the way toward earning the job. He feels like, as Anarumo said, he has all the tools to be successful. He’s just glad he didn’t know earlier that Anarumo had shared that about him, though.
“I feel like it’s a good thing probably he didn’t tell me that,” Hill said. “You know, just not getting in my head but it’s like, you know, you want that in terms of just coaches trusting you and putting you in positions like those, like this right now. I feel like that’s something they have to game plan for and something that they will require and things like that. So, I feel like I have the tools, like you said, and, you know, just sharpening those tools a little bit.”
Cam Taylor-Britt’s return to the field after a tonsillectomy delayed his start to camp might shed more light on how the competition is going at the other outside cornerback spot.
While Taylor-Britt was limited to observing, both Hill and Turner were getting all the first-team reps, switching sides at times. However, Taylor-Britt returned in limited fashion Monday and saw more significant action Tuesday with some 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 reps. The Bengals likely will be rotating Turner and Hill for a while but eventually there could be some separation.
“Ultimately, all those guys are gonna play,” Anarumo said when asked about the competition. “We’re always going to use a bunch of corners in the number of different schemes that we use, so I think right now they’re both having good camps. Just keep getting better, keep stringing those days together. We’re pleased with both of them.”
Hill started every game at free safety last year after the Bengals had drafted him as Jessie Bates’ planned successor. When that didn’t work out, they decided to try him out at outside cornerback even though he had mainly played safety or slot corner in college.
Teams are always looking for good corners, and those guys are normally better paid, so the move could prove beneficial to Hill if it works out as hoped, but he said he’s not thinking about that.
“I’m out here really just to compete for a job,” Hill said. “You know, right now, I feel like that’s my thing right now just, you know, competing with myself, you know, just out there with my teammates and just trying to get toward the season. I feel like that’s something we’re working towards right now. And, you know, I feel like all the other stuff will come eventually, but, you know, right now I just got to be in the moment and do the job.”
The points of emphasis for Hill are being mentally dialed into the small details, making sure he’s got the footwork down and seeing what’s in front of him and getting a clear picture before the ball is snapped.
Covering two of the top receivers in the league in practice will help push him, though Ja’Marr Chase is yet to participate even though he is healthy. Joe Burrow hasn’t shied away from going right at Hill with his passes, and Hill said he enjoys that challenge.
“I feel like that’s what they’re doing from Day 1, so I feel like I think this is preparing me for what’s to come,” Hill said. “And, you know, I’m excited. I mean, I’m getting tested and that’s all I could ask for right now. I mean, it’s getting me better, it’s getting the whole team together.”
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