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Bengals May Have Solved Their Cornerback Depth Concerns
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- Bengals May Have Solved Their Cornerback Depth Concerns
Bengals May Have Solved Their Cornerback Depth Concerns
(Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY)
The Cincinnati Bengals added a ton on the defensive line and in the safety room, but at cornerback, they were, in large part, running back the same unit from last season. DJ Turner and Dax Hill project to be one of the best all-around rooms in the entire league, as both players try to play their way into long-term contract extensions with the Bengals.
Hill is in the last season of his rookie contract, while DJ Turner is just now extension-eligible. The battles between Turner and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase earned Turner the Best Defensive Player of Camp award from Bengals play-by-play commentator Dan Hoard. However, when Dax Hill missed some practice with a soft-tissue injury, the question of depth at the position became a legitimate concern.
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There were rumors of a possible trade to add a cornerback , and when looking at the wide receiver room, trading one of your veteran receivers for an additional depth piece began to make sense.
However, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic says that performances by the Bengals' backup corners throughout camp have quelled any concerns about depth at the position.
Both DJ Ivey and Tacario Davis had great training camps with the Bengals, shoring up the second line of Cincinnati's corners. Both got first-team reps in Hill's absence due to injury and really impressed the Cincinnati defensive coaching staff. Davis posted multiple pass breakups with the starters, including one against stud Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, according to Dehner. Davis exploded onto the scene in the last week of camp after starting out rather slow.
Davis, a rookie corner out of Washington with an imposing 6-foot-4 frame and great length, is the new prototype for a lockdown corner, with a body type similar to Sauce Gardner and Pat Surtain.
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Ivey, a 2023 draft pick out of Miami, posted 10 solo tackles in 2025, which was his third season with the Bengals. He has long been behind both Turner and Hill and projects to hold a similar role in 2026.
The focus for adding a depth piece remains at tackle and linebacker, but it sounds like the Bengals are more than taken care of at cornerback. By the end of this coming season, one or both of the Bengals' corners could have new lucrative deals. Or, maybe rookie Tacario Davis proves to the Bengals he can slide into that every-down role and save Cincinnati some money in the future.
