Cincinnati Bengals rookie safety Daxton Hill showed exactly why he was a 1st round draft pick with an incredible play during their preseason game against the New York Giants.

The Cincinnati Bengals somewhat came out of nowhere last year to have their best season as a franchise since their 1988 campaign where they were able to make it all the way to the Super Bowl before falling at the final hurdle to the Los Angeles Rams.

Part of that success came down to what they were able to do on offense, with quarterback Joe Burrow having a remarkable comeback after his ACL and MCL injury during the 2020 season, whilst rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase also took the league by storm as he went on to win offensive rookie of the year.

Their defence was in the middle of the pack, ranking 18th when it came to total yards given up, so there is clearly some work that needs to be done on that end, and that is where Datxon Hill comes into the mix.

Who is he? 

Hill was a player who was always likely to play in the NFL during his high school days, having been graded as a 5-star safety whilst at Booker T Washington in Oklahoma. That level of play doesn’t go unnoticed and was recruited by the likes of Alabama before deciding to attend the University of Michigan where he put up some incredible numbers for the Wolverines.

With 149 total tackles, 7.5 of which were for loss, 15 pass deflections and 4 interceptions, Hill showed he can be a crucial player in both the run game and the passing game.

It’s no wonder the Bengals took him in the first round, and that talent showed up this weekend during their preseason game. 

Going all out

Whilst he’s clearly good at what he does, you also want your safety to come up with ‘splash’ plays every now and then, turning the ball over and gaining an extra possession, and that’s exactly what he did this weekend as the Bengals took on the New York Giants.

In the first quarter, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones threw a pass that went through the hands of tight end Daniel Bellinger and was hanging in the air to be grabbed. Hill was able to adjust his body and launch himself towards the ground in order to snag the ball just before it hit the turf:

Now it might only be preseason, but this goes to show what he has in his locker, and if he can pull out a few more of those in the regular season, then the Bengals might well be able to recreate the success they had last year.