Bengals playing with fire if they mess with Dax Hill’s position again

The Cincinnati Bengals just can’t seem to get out of their own way sometimes.

Dax Hill is a good example. Not totally his fault alone, but true: The Bengals drafted him as the eventual replacement for Jessie Bates, but have messed around with his actual position on the defense for years, hurting his career and the overall defense.

Good news: Hill seemed to break out as a boundary corner last year and could fill that premium spot for the Bengals for a long time.

Bad news: The Bengals might move him again.

As ESPN’s Ben Baby recently wrote, the cornerback market price continues to boom. DJ Turner is going to need a big contract. And as a boundary corner, Hill could, too. Like Baby says, comments from names like Bengals head coach Zac Taylor have hinted that Hill’s position could be up in the air.

The Bengals’ failure to find a starting slot corner since Mike Hilton left, including misses like Josh Newton, has put them in this spot. If they draft a prospect at No. 10 who is better on the boundary, they could very well look at kicking Hill back inside to the slot.

The boundary is pretty clearly Hill’s best spot, based on his Week 9 shift that lasted the rest of the way last year. The Bengals should be eager to keep him there and Turner at the other boundary spot. Most teams would give up much to have two quality boundary guys.

But again, the Bengals can’t seem to get out of their own way. Hill’s versatility is a crutch they’ve used, or a band-aid, anyway, to attempt to cover for their poor drafting. He’s played three positions in four years. Hill should be settled on the boundary, with the Bengals drafting around that fact. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that the door is open for another unnecessary stumble, starting right at No. 10.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals playing with fire if they mess with Dax Hill’s position again