Cincinnati also drafted former Michigan cornerback D.J. Turner in the second round this year and took Alabama safety Jordan Battle in the third round. Both players show a lot of upside and could factor into the mix.
And then there’s stability with the expected return of standout cornerback Chidobe Awuzie from knee surgery and Mike Hilton’s presence at the nickel, and they are joined by former Rams safety Nick Scott and former Raiders cornerback Sydney Jones as fellow veteran leaders.
Let’s take a look at the past performances of the Bengals’ current defensive backs, and how they are expected to stack up in 2023 with help from some analysis and data from Pro Football Focus. This is the last in a series of pieces breaking down each position group for the Bengals before training camp begins Wednesday.
DEFENSIVE BACKS ON THE ROSTER
Projected starters: FS Dax Hill, SS Nick Scott, CB Chidobe Awuzie, CB Mike Hilton, CB Cam Taylor-Britt
Reserves: S Tycen Anderson, S Jordan Battle, CB Jalen Davis, CB Sydney Jones, S Mike Thomas, CB DJ Turner
Others in the mix: CB DJ Ivey, CB Allan George, CB Marvell Tell III, S Larry Brooks, DB Yusuf Corker
AWUZIE BY THE NUMBERS
2022 stats: 35 tackles, five passes defended, one forced fumble in eight games
PFF grades for 2022: Awuzie ranked 33rd of 118 cornerbacks in defense grade (69.9), 29th of 120 cornerbacks in coverage grade (73.1) and 92nd of 109 cornerbacks in run defense grade (48.7).
PFF ranking for 2023: PFF ranked Awuzie 18th on its list of top 32 cornerbacks for a second year in a row.
HILL BY THE NUMBERS
2022 stats: 16 tackles, 1 quarterback hit in 15 games (two starts)
PFF grades for 2022: Hill had a defense grade of 56.0, pass rush grade of 48.0, coverage grade of 56.6 and run defense grade of 71.4 but did not play enough snaps to factor into the rankings
PFF ranking for 2023: Hill was not among the top 32 safeties ranked by PFF.
HILTON BY THE NUMBERS
2022 stats: 60 tackles, four tackles for loss, one interception, six passes defended in 14 games
PFF grades for 2022: Hilton ranked 45th of 118 cornerbacks in defense grade (67.1), 13th of 20 cornerbacks in pass rush grade (60.6), 59thth of 120 cornerbacks in coverage grade (64.3) and 15th of 109 cornerbacks in run defense grade (76.2).
PFF rankings for 2023: PFF puts Hilton at No. 22 on its list of top 32 cornerbacks. He was ranked last year as the No. 2 slot corner in the league but there was no distinction between outside and nickel corners this year.
SCOTT BY THE NUMBERS
2022 stats: 86 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, five passes defended, two forced fumbls in 17 games (16 starts)
PFF grades for 2022: Scott ranked 78th of 88 safeties in defense grade (54.2), 86th of 87 safeties in coverage grade (43.4) and 16th of 82 safeties in run defense grade (77.0). He had a pass rush grade of 60.0 but didn’t do it enough to factor into the rankings.
PFF ranking for 2023: Scott was not among the top 32 safeties ranked by PFF.
TAYLOR-BRITT BY THE NUMBERS
2022 stats: 55 tackles, one tackle for loss, six passes defended, one forced fumble in 10 games (nine starts)
PFF grades for 2022: Taylor-Britt ranked 59th of 118 cornerbacks in defense grade (64.5), 40th of 120 cornerbacks in coverage grade (58.3) and 95th of 109 cornerbacks in run defense grade (46.7). He had a pass rush grade of 58.3 but wasn’t involved enough to be factored into the rankings.
PFF ranking for 2023: Taylor-Britt was not among the top 32 cornerbacks ranked by PFF.
FURTHER ANALYSIS
The loss of Bates and Bell, the fact Awuzie is coming off a major knee surgery and the uncertainty around how young players will step into bigger roles makes the Bengals’ secondary a bit of a question mark. However, the talent is there.
Awuzie returning to the level he was playing prior to his Oct. 31, 2022, injury will be key, and the Bengals need a lot out of Hill and Scott, who have big shoes to fill replacing Bates and Bell.
PFF’s Sam Monson, in his individual cornerback rankings analysis, had high praise for both Awuzie and Hilton, the two most proven players in the Bengals’ secondary. He called Hilton “one of the best slot corners in the game,” and a “well-rounded defender.”
Of Awuzie he wrote: “An injury limited Chidobe Awuzie to just the first eight games of the season, but in those outings he didn’t allow a touchdown and was building on his strong 2021 campaign. Since arriving in Cincinnati, Awuzie has looked like one of the better cornerbacks in the game. He let up a catch on just 41.9% of passes into his coverage last season.”
However, none of the safeties are proven yet, which factored into PFF putting the Bengals’ secondary in the middle of the pack in its unit ranking, listing them at 15th. The Jets took the top spot in John Kosko’s analysis of all 32 teams’ secondaries.
“This was a top-10 group last season, but it just lost both safeties and will now rely on some new faces to keep up the standard of the past few years,” Kosko wrote. “Awuzie and Taylor-Britt made a number of big plays, especially down the stretch, forcing a combined 15 incompletions over the year. The team also drafted cornerback DJ Turner in the second round and safety Jordan Battle in the third round to provide depth and competition heading into the new season.”
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