Daxton Hill agrees to rookie contract with Cincinnati Bengals
Former Michigan defensive back Daxton Hill officially came to an agreement with the Cincinnati Bengals, officially kicking off his time in the NFL. The 31st overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft has his contract now in hand.
Hill agreed to terms on his rookie deal on Wednesday morning, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. His contract is for four years, totaling $11,667,0013. Included is a signing bonus of $5,665,100 and a fifth-year option that can be exercised prior to his fourth season in the league. He will count for $2,121,275 against the Bengals’ salary cap in 2022.
Rookie deals are slotted in the NFL per the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Hill entered the draft after his junior season and appeared in 33 career games with 23 starts playing multiple roles in the secondary. He also contributed on special teams. He was an All-Big Ten honoree in 2021, racking up 69 tackles (4.5 for loss), 0.5 sacks, 11 passes defended, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
Hill was an On3 Consensus five-star-plus safety coming out of high school, was the No. 8 overall player in the 2019 recruiting cycle. After flipping his commitment to Alabama, Hill flipped back to Michigan on signing day, giving the Wolverines a blue-chip talent to build the secondary around.
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Hill was Michigan’s sixth-ranked defensive starter last season, per Pro Football Focus. He was good across the board, posting a defensive grade of 77.6 (76.8 in run defense, 74.7 in tackling, 77.8 as a pass rusher and 73.8 in coverage). Hill was rock solid and a positive in a ton of areas on the backend of Michigan’s defense.
What the Bengals said about Daxton Hill on draft weekend
Cincinnati was over the moon about the opportunity to add the versatile Michigan defender.
“Daxton Hill has been a tremendous player for a long time,” head coach Zac Taylor said after Hill’s selection. “He’s a great player coming out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s been at Michigan the last three years and has made a tremendous impact on one of the best defenses in all of college football. He played a lot of different roles for them. Everyone in that building speaks very highly of Dax — not only the play style but the intangibles.
“The stuff on the field, and the stuff off the field. As you guys know, that’s exactly the type of traits that we look for in our players. He embodies everything that we’ve searched to be about. We’re really excited that he was where he was last night in the draft and that we were able to get him at No. 31 and add him to the mix. He’s going to be a great weapon for us for a long time.”
