Bengals cornerback Dax Hill not only plans to be in uniform on the field and not on a list for Wednesday’s first day of training camp, but he also thinks at some point this season he’ll be running faster than his blistering 4.38-second 40-yard dash from his 2022 NFL scouting combine.

With all eyes taking attendance on the Bengals defense Wednesday, Hill has quietly been cleared and is set to be in individual drills with the plan to be ready on Opening Day. It’s a huge lift for the Bengals, since Hill was their best cornerback when he tore his ACL in last season’s fifth game on Oct. 6.

“That’s the plan,” said Hill Monday as he prepped for a walkthrough with the rookies. “They’ll ease me into things once everyone is back. No rush.

“It seems like I’ll be able to perform. We’ll see how training camp goes.”

So far, so good, according to head coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden at Monday’s Training Camp Media Luncheon at Paycor Stadium.

“He looks great, looks healthy and going everything full speed,” Golden said.

Taylor won’t rush him, but he says Hill is good to go.

“We’ve seen what we needed to see from him,” Taylor said. “He’s through all the rehab stuff, so now it’s just us progressing him through the football activities.”

When Hill was last doing football activities, he was playing the best ball of his career that began with the Bengals’ first-round pick in 2022.

“I definitely want to make sure I’m in the right state of mind. Not just because of the injury, I just want to pick up where I left off,” Hill said. “I was trending upward and then the injury. But I feel like if I just come back and have that same mindset that I did before I got hurt, I feel like I’ll be good.”

The Bengals are thrilled where Hill is mentally. Often at this point when a rehab becomes football, that’s the biggest obstacle. Not the injury. But there have been no head games for Hill.

Hill says he got a boost from talking to safety Tycen Anderson and cornerback DJ Ivey, who were felled by ACLs in 2023 and came back better than fine last year.

“They had the same routine I had, basically. I talked to them and they gave me encouragement,” Hill said. “That was the biggest thing. Relating to somebody about it and not feeling alone about it.”

He says he was far from alone among family, friends and Bengals rehab chief Nick Cosgray. Hill can go into Cosgray’s office and see signed autographed jerseys in frames from A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert, just two of the Bengals he helped nurse to Pro Bowls after they’d been hurt.

“Sometimes he’d do it even without the papers,” Hill said of the rehab printout. “He’s been at this for 20 years. I just know him as a trainer and knew I was in good hands.”

Cosgray and head trainer Matt Summers actually gave Hill the timeline from Anderson’s rehab, since Hill was hurt in early October and Anderson in late October. Like Anderson, Hill has been cleared for camp. He’d love to do what Anderson did next, which is play in every game on the way to being named the Bengals’ Ed Block Courage Award winner. Anderson also led NFL gunners in tackles, but Hill is going to be too busy for that after lining up both outside and inside for Golden.

“We need to have guys that can play corner to nickel. We need guys that can play safety to nickel. We need some guys that can play from corner to safety,” Golden said. “Dax gives us that.”

His breathtaking ability to close on the ball and the man should still be there, Hill says. “I’m still young,” he says. Hill, who turns 25 on the Monday night in Denver the Bengals play their fourth game of the season, says the one-year anniversary of the injury the week after Mile High should signify he’s either back to full speed or close.

“I still feel explosive,’ Hill said. “The crazy thing about it is I feel like I’m a lot faster than that (4.38 combine 40). I’m way faster than that. It was just the cleats I had. I practiced with lightweight cleats and ran in the same cleats. I thought it was for the best, but it wasn’t. I feel like I can go low 4.3s. I’m saying in that same range after a full year.”