Regarding Hendrickson, Taylor said he listened to his concerns, but Taylor expects the three-time Pro Bowl defensive end to play for Cincinnati this year. The Bengals drafted Ole Miss edge Cedric Johnson late for depth only and not in response to Hendrickson asking for a trade — news that surfaced on the eve of the draft — if the team won’t give him a longer contract than the extension he signed last July.
“I’ve got an open ear to him,” Taylor said. “I love Trey. I’ve told Trey that. We want Trey to play here next year for us. He’s gonna play here next year for us. He’s gonna have success, and we’re gonna have success and I’m excited or that.”
Both Taylor and Hill had remained mum on the team’s plans for Hill when asked about his role earlier this offseason following the free agent additions of safeties Geno Stone and Vonn Bell.
Among the team’s 10 picks over the three-day draft, Cincinnati selected Texas Christian University versatile cornerback Josh Newton in the fifth round, adding depth both inside and outside.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Hill, the team’s 2022 first-round pick, can do the same, as he has worked various spots in the Bengals secondary during his two seasons and also brings experience playing multiple roles in college.
“He’ll be in the corner room right now,” Taylor said. “Now that we’ve got through the draft and seen how the draft’s gonna play out. It does make sense for me to address that now. He’s done a good job. He’s known that. ... He’s gonna have a chance to go out there and compete in the corner room.”
Daijahn Anthony, a defensive back the Bengals drafted in the seventh round out of Ole Miss, will be with the safeties, Taylor said, although Anthony is another player that has experience at corner as well.
Taylor said the Bengals start their versatile cornerbacks outside and then move them inside so they learn both positions. Hill could find himself in either spot, and he will have a chance to compete for a starting job. Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner are the returning starters on the outside, while Mike Hilton, in the last year of his contract, plays the nickel.
“One of the reasons you took him (Hill) was because of all the various things you’d seen on tape from him,” Taylor said. “He’s a superb athlete, he’s got great size, and he did a good amount of coverage at Michigan, playing inside covering slots, played some outside. We’ve seen it from him, and we think it’s the best opportunity right now to help our team. Again, the versatility is what made him the pick that he was. We’re really excited for his future. He has done a tremendous job embracing this opportunity, and I’m excited to see him go out there and compete.”
Taylor said he feels good about the state of the roster after a productive draft that included no trades. The Bengals took former Georgia right tackle Amarius Mims in the first round, former Michigan defensive tackle Kris Jenkins in the second and former Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton and Texas A&M defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson in the third round.
The Bengals also got two tight ends in Erick All, a Fairfield High graduate who finished his college career at Iowa, and Arizona’s Tanner McLachlan in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively. Miami (Fla.) center Matt Lee was the team’s final pick in the seventh round.
“We really liked these guys that we grabbed,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a great vision for these guys. I think that they all serve a purpose for us. They’re all gonna have a chance to compete. They’re gonna have to earn those opportunities. What we know about them, they’re gonna embrace that.”
Some of the players could be viewed as high-risk, high-reward, such as Mims because of his lack experience with just eight collegiate starts, Burton because of his “emotional immaturity,” as former Alabama coach Nick Saban described him and All because of his injury history coming off an ACL tear.
However, Taylor said the state of the roster before the draft enabled the team to go after some of those players that don’t necessarily have to make immediate impacts. Their draft required some patience.
“You get a chance for guys to earn an opportunity right away if they earn it,” Taylor said. “If not, they get a chance to learn behind some really good players that are going to help them develop. They’re going to compete against them, obviously. But I think the character of our team, they’re going to help these guys come along because they know we need them all to help us win. We’ve got good visions for these guys. They all hit us at spots where we needed competition or we needed depth. So I think it’s overall a really good group.”
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