00:00They need some of the old faces to get better, to improve.
00:03One of those guys that they're banking on is Jordan Battle.
00:07Alongside Brian Cook, can Battle take a big step forward?
00:11We're going to hear from Jordan in just a second.
00:13It's been an eventful week for him.
00:15But before we hear from Jordan, let's set some expectations for him.
00:19Where are you guys at entering year four with the former third-round pick
00:25who started last year, played a ton, had some ups, had some downs,
00:30but the Bengals banking on him to have more ups this season?
00:32Certainly. Four interceptions last year, two forced fumbles.
00:35I think that's the thing that really jumps off the page with me with Jordan Battle.
00:38Sure, there's some mistackle problems. There's some other issues with Battle.
00:42But when he does make plays, they are impact plays.
00:45He knows how to go get the ball. He knows how to change the flow of a game.
00:48And that's something that I love to see in a young player
00:50because it's easy to teach tackling.
00:52It's easy to teach the fundamentals of football.
00:55But it's hard to teach that nose for the ball.
00:57And Jordan Battle has that. And he's a difference maker.
00:59And that was one of the main reasons the Bengals brought in Geno Stone
01:02was because of the interceptions and the stuff he was able to do
01:05as the third safety in that Ravens defense
01:06before he came over to Cincinnati a few years ago.
01:09Battle can fill that role of the big play guy
01:13because Brian Cook, among all the things he does really, really well,
01:17he's not that turnovers guy.
01:18He doesn't have a ton of interceptions.
01:20He doesn't have a ton of forced fumbles.
01:22I think the pairing of the two of them could build
01:24one of the most well-rounded safety rooms in maybe the entire league.
01:27I am really excited to see to that point how Battle is going to work
01:31and play alongside Brian Cook.
01:33I think Cook is going to do wonders for Battle's game.
01:35And you just look at Jordan's numbers, his PFF grades over the last couple of years.
01:40In 2023, his coverage grade was a 76, was a coverage grade, again, a 76 in 2024.
01:45And then for some reason took a massive dip to a 54.5 in 2025.
01:51And you wonder how much of that had to do with just the overall struggles
01:55and just how historically bad the Spengals defense was a year ago.
01:59And so I have to imagine a guy like Brian Cook is only going to help Jordan Battle
02:04kind of get back to maybe that form we saw out of his rookie season
02:07because I think a lot of us were really high on him and what we saw in 2023.
02:10No question.
02:11They need him to be what Von Bell was when he signed.
02:15Yeah.
02:16Like Brian Cook is going to be the key piece, the stabilizing piece,
02:20the guy that puts out all the fires like Jesse did.
02:23Jordan Battle, when they drafted him,
02:25it felt like they thought he could be the next Von Bell.
02:29And Von Bell, it took time for him to become what he was here in Cincinnati,
02:32helping them go to the Super Bowl, get to the AFC Championship,
02:37gave him back-to-back years.
02:37Because he was on his second contract, because he had developed
02:40and gone and taken his lumps and played in big games with the Saints,
02:44well, now it's Jordan Battle's time.
02:46And so I think realistic expectations for him, to Jacob's point,
02:49force those splash plays and you just got those lows, those valleys,
02:54where you have the missed tackle on Colston Loveland,
02:56you have some boneheaded plays on the sidelines, some missed tackles.
03:01They'll eliminate those.
03:02And if you eliminate those and have the splash plays,
03:04you're going to be a quality starting safety in the league,
03:07whether it's here, whether it's elsewhere.
03:09Obviously, he's entering a contract year.
03:11Here's what Jordan Battle had to say, a part of what he had to say,
03:15talking to reporters earlier this week in the Bengals locker room.
03:19At this point of OTAs, why or what do you feel has grown in terms of your confidence,
03:25not only for yourself, but for the group as well?
03:28Yeah, yeah.
03:29I mean, the confidence of the team, you know, is already through the roof.
03:33You know, just with the guys we signed, you know, we feel very comfortable in the things that they do.
03:38You know, and just with the guys coming back, you know, I feel like, you know,
03:40everybody's matured, you know, a little bit more, you know,
03:43and everybody's ready to take the next step.
03:45You know, as far as myself, you know, just trying to be more of a vocal leader.
03:49You know, I'm trying to just, you know, step out of my comfort zone, you know,
03:53and whenever I see something, you know, speak up about it, you know,
03:58understanding that, you know, I'm in a position to where I can, you know, speak up, you know,
04:03and, you know, just voice my opinion and guys will listen.
04:05So being a vocal leader also kind of signifies that you have a command of the defense
04:10and what Al Golden wants, what Chuck Burks wants, seeing how to play the secondary.
04:15How have you worked on that?
04:16Yeah, for sure.
04:17Just, you know, coming in every day, you know, whether that's early, you know,
04:21whether, you know, that's getting up with JK, you know,
04:23seeing whatever we can do to, you know, impact our defense, you know, impact our calls.
04:28You know, sometimes you have certain calls that have different meanings,
04:32but it sounds the same, like it's maybe in the same category or something else, you know,
04:36so just trying to, you know, specify those things, you know,
04:39and put them in different categories and give them different names so it makes it easier for us.
04:43That confidence you said the team has from the offseason moves, I mean,
04:46does that show up on the field?
04:47Can you sense a difference compared to your last couple of years?
04:51Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
04:52I feel like, you know, going into this year's OTAs is probably the most confident I've been with the group.
04:58You know, I feel like everybody's, you know, just bonding so easily, you know,
05:02even with the new guys, you know, coming in, you know, it was like,
05:06we knew these guys last year, you know, and we just met them.
05:09So it's been fun, you know, bonding and getting to know everybody.
05:12Does that surprise you, just expecting to be able to quickly kind of connect with so many new instances?
05:17Nah, I mean, not really, nah, but, you know, when you see that, you know,
05:21that everybody's, you know, pretty much alike in a way, you know,
05:25it's kind of fun to see, you know, like a boy has a cool personality, you know,
05:29Dex, you know, Dex and BJ been together for a while, so it was easy for him to mess with
05:33BJ.
05:34And, you know, BJ probably had the biggest personality on the team,
05:37so that made Dex want to, you know, have a big personality as well.
05:40So, you know, it's just been fun getting to learn guys, you know, getting to know guys,
05:44you know, and B Cook as well, you know, like day one meeting him, you know,
05:48it's been like we've been brothers our whole life, so it's been cool.
05:52I remember talking to you at the end of your rookie year,
05:54and you were talking about how you wanted to be a leader, you wanted to be a captain on this
05:57team.
05:58You know, as hard as a rookie because you got to know your place,
06:00and is that still a goal that you want to wear at sea at some point?
06:03Yeah, yeah, for sure.
06:04Definitely a goal, you know, this year, you know, trying to get that sea, you know,
06:08be a leader on this team, on this defense, you know, and be the guy that, you know,
06:11guys can look up to, you know, and come to, you know, when they have problems, you know,
06:16when something's not going on at home, not going right at home, you know,
06:19you can tell me about it, you know, we can talk about it, you know,
06:22and leave that outside the door, and then we'll get in the building, you know,
06:25it's just football, you know, and just be comfortable around guys.
06:28Is that something you guys consciously think about over this process,
06:31over training camp, or is it the day they say it's time to vote,
06:33and you're like, oh, is this just popping your head then?
06:38I probably wouldn't say I'm thinking about it right now.
06:40I haven't been thinking about it, you know, probably until you just said something.
06:43But, yeah, you know, it's just about, you know, having the confidence, you know,
06:47and guys having the confidence in me, you know,
06:49and then you having the confidence in yourself as well to be able to go out,
06:53you know, go step on the field, and then, you know, get a play, call out a play,
06:57you know, make the adjustments, you know, and then everybody's listening,
07:00and then everybody's reacting, and we're doing good, we're making plays.
07:03So, you know, it's just, it's been a step forward this year, you know,
07:07I feel like for myself, you know, just being that guy who guys feel is a vocal leader,
07:12you know, and I just got to keep progressing.
07:14That entire conversation with Jordan Battle is on the Cincinnati Bengals Talk YouTube channel.
07:19Look, Battle, they're banking on him being a real guy, being a playmaker,
07:25and I think that's, yeah, if they can be solid everywhere defensively,
07:30and then they have a few guys that are playmakers, maybe he's one,
07:34maybe Demetrius Knight is one, and they make some splash plays.
07:36Maybe they're not perfect, but they make some splash plays.
07:39It's going to go a long way on this defense,
07:42because I know Cook is going to be consistent.
07:44I know what he's going to bring.
07:45He's not going to miss many tackles.
07:47He might not have the ball production.
07:48Hopefully Battle can give you that, give you some of those splash plays,
07:51because then they complement each other well,
07:53and you feel really good about that safety room.
07:55It's been a revolving door in that second safety position next to Battle since he got here,
07:59and I think the consistency and some kind of stability will make it a lot better,
08:03and also the corners.
08:04I mean, even leading into last season,
08:06now we're talking about DJ Turner as potentially a $30 million extension guy
08:10who's a no-doubt Pro Bowler this season.
08:12Last year, he wasn't even the starter going into week one.
08:14I think as the whole secondary takes a step forward,
08:17also coupled with the raise and pass rush production we can expect from the defensive line this year,
08:22Jordan Battle's job should get a lot easier,
08:24and this comes with more time under his belt, more snaps, more experience,
08:28so his progression should just be happening naturally as well
08:32when the talent is added to the defense.
08:34So all of that should marry up and have a really exciting season for Battle this year.
08:38I'm certainly buying stock throughout this offseason.
08:40I am too, and we saw just what kind of difference having that stability in that safeties room made in
08:452021
08:46with Jesse Bates and Von Bell and how well they played off of each other
08:49and the big-time moments that those two guys really stepped up in.
08:53I don't think it's out of the question to think that Jordan Battle and Brian Cook can be that for
08:57the Bengals in 2026,
08:59and I loved hearing Jordan just say that this is the most confident he has felt in this group since
09:04he has gotten here.
09:05I think that goes a long way, too, especially when you have not only all the changes that you had
09:09on the defensive side,
09:10but looking for this defense to massively improve from what we saw in each of the last two seasons.
09:15A career-high 125 tackles.
09:17He started every game last year, and the fact that he was able to do that but also have the
09:24four interceptions.
09:25The production's there.
09:26Now you need him to leap because year one didn't play a lot.
09:29Year two was weird because they brought Von Bell back, and it was just kind of awkward.
09:33Last year, played a lot, got his opportunity, showed some flashes.
09:38This year needs to be his year, and if it is, he's going to get paid.
09:41Might be here.
09:42Could be elsewhere.
09:43But if he plays well, then he's certainly going to get his payday.
09:47The Bengals are going to be better off for it.
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