Cincinnati Bengals Elite Defender to Be Mentored by Legacy Superstar During 2024 Season

Last season, Cincinnati had a major struggle both with the overall talent and the depth of their defensive back positions.  A big portion of that happened to be due to the colossal dud that strong safety Nick Scott happened to be after the team signed him to a three-year deal from the Los Angeles Rams last offseason.

Luckily for Cincinnati, they got incredibly luck in spite of that acquisition when third-round draft pick safety Jordan Battle ended up being a total gem.  Even though Battle only started in a handful of games last season after the team benched Scott, he turned out to be a bona fide superstar as he went on to finish the season with an overall Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of 82.5 which was good enough to be the 8th best safety in football.

While Battle was outstanding, Cincinnati made a bizarre decision this offseason when they loaded up on safeties including Baltimore Ravens free safety Geno Stone and Carolina Panthers safety Vonn Bell.  In particularly, Bell is a fascinating decision because just two seasons ago, Bell was a superstar leader on this defensive unit.  While his tenure with the Panthers was certainly not considered a successful stint, he has been welcomed back in Cincinnati like a true hero.

One reason that Cincinnati decided to bring Bell back is that he is certainly the optimal player to mentor Battle on how to not only become a superstar athlete but also an outstanding leader on this team.  Recently promoted secondary coach Nick Kovaks spoke to the Bengals chief in-house media correspondent Geoff Hopson recently regarding how he thinks that Bell is going to fit with this unit as it exists today.

“Vonn is going to be a great veteran for the room. Great for a guy like Jordan who didn’t necessarily have that at times last year.  We love Vonn for not only what he does on the field, but the tone that he sets in the meeting room and off the field. The culture that he sets. Having a guy like that around a guy like Jordan Battle is going to be very beneficial. We were missing that last year.”

Hopson also asked Battle exactly what his take on Bell returning to the team is and the young Alabama product had nothing but glowing things to say about the veteran.

“Great conversations, Just his aura when he walks in the locker room. Everybody sees it and everybody welcomes Vonn. Whatever I can learn to elevate my game and reach the next level. He’ll be a great help to the team.”

Battle clearly has to potential to be a long-term superstar on this defensive unit and with the addition of Bell, that vision could come to fruition sooner than you’d think.