CINCINNATI (WXIX) – In late November, word was getting out that the historically bad Cincinnati Bengals’ defense was making a change and moving slot corner Jalen Davis from the practice squad to the starting lineup. A reporter goes over for an interview, probably one of the first in-season interviews that Davis has ever been a part of.
At the time, Davis was sitting in the back right corner of the locker room with Jordan Battle and DJ Turner. Davis thinks that the reporter is heading over to talk to one of them. But this reporter is here to interview Davis.
“Oh, he wants Jalen Davis for the interview!” Battle shouts.
DJ Turner yells out, “Starting nickel! Starting nickel!”
Morale was low around the Bengals during these times. Davis, a 29-year-old who’s the longest-tenured Bengal and has been with the team since 2020, provided a true spark.
“He’s a fan favorite in the locker room, tremendous energy,” Zac Taylor said. “He just does what it takes to win and help our team, whether that’s been as a practice squad player, bringing energy every single day and being consistent, being ready when his number is called. So, then his numbers finally gets called in November, and he just goes out there and just plays with a ton of confidence, ton of awareness, great communication skills.”
Taylor says that Davis has a lot of similarities with Mike Hilton, the guy that Davis backed up for four seasons. Hilton was one of the best nickels in the league during that time, so that’s about as high of a compliment as Taylor could give to a player at that position.
Between 2020 and November of 2025, Davis was a backup, a special teamer or a practice squader. Now, he’s showing that he’s more than a feel-good story. Davis is a good football player who could have been a starter somewhere in the NFL all along.
“Personally, these are the happiest moments of my life,” Davis said. “After eight years, I’m finally getting to play some football and be a starter out there. It’s not the best time as a whole team. You want to be in the playoffs and compete for a championship. Personally, I’m having a blast.”
With one decision after another, the Bengals’ defense has gotten younger and younger over the course of the season. Logan Wilson was benched for Barrett Carter as the Bengals rolled with two rookie linebackers. Kris Jenkins, McKinnley Jackson and Shemar Stewart (when healthy) saw their roles increase over the course of the season. This defense has been in a deep rebuild, and the way out of it is developing more pieces in the young core.
The exception is Jalen Davis.
In Week 11 against the New England Patriots, Cam Taylor-Britt suffered a season-ending foot injury. The conventional move would have been keeping Dax Hill in the slot and giving a shot to Josh Newton, DJ Ivey or Marco Wilson.
Instead, the Bengals picked the 29-year-old slot corner on the practice squad who had never made a start in the NFL.
“We needed a veteran there,” Al Golden said. “We couldn’t afford to have another guy that was training on the job.”
Golden has a saying that “the nickel drives the bus.” Slot corners are in a position where they’re at the front of the spear, and linebackers and safeties following what the nickel is doing.
Davis has been flat-out good, and he has also made others around him better.
“He has as much to do with our improvement as anything,” Golden said. “He has settled us down.”
The Bengals tried just about everyone in the slot during the summer, including Hill, Taylor-Britt, Newton and undrafted rookie Bralyn Lux. Davis was fighting just to get snaps in practice. Based on where Davis was at on the depth chart, he had to step up and play out of position at outside corner during the preseason finale.
The Bengals decided to start the season with Hill in the slot and with Taylor-Britt and Josh Newton out wide. Davis didn’t even really get a chance to compete for a starting spot. Then early in the season, Newton struggled and Turner popped. The Bengals spent most of the year with Hill in the slot and Turner and Taylor-Britt out wide. Taylor-Britt was inconsistent for most of the season, showed some better flashes in November but then suffered a foot injury that ended his season.
Does Golden regret not giving Davis a chance sooner? “It’s the way it played out,” Golden said. Do I think we had the three most talented guys on the field? Yeah. I’d love to have Cam on the field right now.”
Twenty-nine year old veterans on the practice squad end up running out of time eventually, getting replaced by someone younger. If Davis didn’t get his chance this year, it would have been fair for the eight-year NFL veteran to wonder if he’d ever get it.
“It was very difficult, but I like to put all my faith and trust into God,” Davis said. “I was just waiting on my moment.”
Then Davis got his shot, entered the starting lineup in November and was ready to make an immediate impact. Golden said that Davis is pretty much guaranteeing a ninth year in the NFL, and potentially more.
“I’m just happy for him,” Golden said. “He’s a worker. He’s unselfish. He has really improved us.”
Davis is making really important plays. His best was his first career interception. Last week in Miami, Davis ran stride for stride with Dolphins slot corner Jaylen Waddle, beat him to the ball and showed receiver-like instincts on the interception. Golden said that Davis’ technique on the interception “will live here for a really long time” as an example to point to for others to learn from.
Golden describes Davis as a “nifty” player around the ball. Like Hilton, Davis can slice through offensive linemen, break into the backfield and record a clutch tackle for loss. Davis’ play in the backfield before halftime in Miami generated arguably the most important third down stop of that game.
Davis is physical. In Buffalo, he knocked back a tight end block on a bubble screen and paved the way for Barrett Carter to record a drive-ending tackle. Against the Patriots, Drake Maye didn’t see Davis coming on a second down sack that was really important in that game. Davis forced a fumble in Baltimore on Thanksgiving.
In five games, he has allowed two total catches (and one of them was a check down that the Bengals were willing to allow during garbage time). Davis is making real plays.
“He has a knack for making plays on the ball,” Taylor said. “He has a knack for pressuring. JD is out there doing his own thing, and I’m really just happy to see him take on that role and do with a ton of confidence and make a lot of plays for us and have a lot of success.”
He’s far from perfect. While Davis has been playing more-and-more third downs recently, he’s still a corner the Bengals will sub out on true passing downs for a better man-to-man corner.
But there are also a lot of little things that Davis does that don’t show up on the stat sheet that add to his value.
“We needed experience, and he brought it,” Golden said. “He really settled us in. He gets lined up really quickly. He puts everyone at ease around him.”
Davis’ life has genuinely changed over the last month. After years of being a glue guy behind the scenes, he’s finally getting some recognition. He jokes “It’s the life, huh?” When asked about being in more of a spotlight he says, “Of course it feels different. You’re actually playing.”
Before he got his shot, Davis was praised for being the veteran in the cornerback room, a glue guy in meetings and a great energy guy on scout team. Davis played in the Super Bowl and was around for the highs of 2021 and 2022, and he’s trying to pass forward what he learned from being a part of those teams.
“I pride myself on trying to be a good teammate,” Davis said. “I haven’t (always) been playing, but I always wished the best for my brothers. They can feel that energy and that I’m genuine when I’m trying to talk to them. I’m lead by example. I’ll talk to you one on one. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen a lot of people go different paths. If they have any questions, I can give them some great advice.”
Davis continues to contribute in that way. It’s just that now, he’s also finally getting to make some plays.
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