The Cincinnati Bengals knew exactly what they had to do in this year's NFL Draft, load up defensively. However, one of their defensive selections from the past is facing a critical year. 

OTAs begin this week with mandatory minicamps set to follow in June. For safety Dax Hill, it's the perfect time to establish that he can live up to his draft position. 

Hill was taken in the first round in 2022. Like a lot of rookies, Hill did a lot of work on special teams. Due to circumstances during the offseason, his role will be a lot different in 2023.

"After losing veterans Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell to free agency, the Bengals need Hill (a 2022 first-round pick) to prove he’s capable of taking on a lead role after recording just 16 tackles in 15 appearances (two starts) last season."- Mike Jones, The Athletic 

Hill did appear in 15 games last year. However, he logged six snaps or less 13 times, so he's still very inexperienced when it comes to playing safety on the pro level. 

Hill does bring some nice tools to the table. 

He has blazing 4.38 speed that he uses to strike hard as he's running downhill. Hill is also very versatile having played deep safety and slot cornerback at Michigan, and he filled in nicely for Mike Hilton last season playing the latter. 

The Bengals were eventually going to need Hill to step and play a significant role at some point, that's what first-round picks are supposed to do. His learning process has been sped up just a little, and now defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, a guy who loves versatility players, gets to go into the lab to figure out exactly what Hill will be tasked with.