The Cincinnati Bengals need as many willing players as possible to suit up and help their defense out in 2026. This is the most critical offseason in franchise history, because if a fourth straight year comes and goes with no playoffs, you better believe Joe Burrow is demanding a trade.
Although the Bengals front office can only go so far to go "all-in" for that elusive first Super Bowl victory, they can at least present the illusion that they care by spending big in free agency.
That doesn't mean scraping the bottom of the barrel in the second wave. That means coming out swinging on the very best players available. One of them just so happens to be a Cincinnati native.
Chiefs safety Bryan Cook should be Bengals' prime top-market target in free agency
Lots of linkage between the Bengals and their hated rival. Well ,you can't really call the Kansas City Chiefs a rival, considering that since the teams last met in the playoffs, the Chiefs have two Super Bowl wins and another appearance in the Big Game.
Stealing free agents from Steve Spagnuolo's KC defense seems like a sound strategy. Cook is one of the cornerstones I've stumped for in my 3,000-word mock offseason that just underwent a few tweaks grounded in a tad more realism. Bryan Cook remained a constant, though, as did Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal.
Cook is actually not that statistically great in coverage (gave up a 111.7 passer rating last season), but he's seldom out of position, and only allowed 8.7 yards per reception in 2025. More important: Over the last two seasons, per PFF, Cook has converted on 164 of 174 tackling attempts. That's only a 5.7% miss rate.
Bringing such a sure-tackling, two-time Super Bowl champ to the Bengals locker room who actually wants to be in Cincinnati and played for the Bearcats in college seems like a no-brainer. That's even more so the case when you consider the state of the Bengals' defense.
Incumbent starter Jordan Battle has some issues as a tackler. Where he does excel is in pass coverage. Despite horrid play this past year from his starting mate, Geno Stone, Battle was legitimately elite when he lined up as a pure deep safety.
Next Gen Stats has Jordan Battle at FS for 68.2% of his snaps.
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) March 6, 2026
His 686 FS snaps was the 19th most of all safeties last year.
- He allowed 0 TDs and had 4 INTs from this alignment.
He has been charged with 2 TDs and has 5 INTs in his career from FS.
- His 80 tackles from FS…
Not that the Bengals are going to ask Battle to *only* align as the deep center fielder and keep Cook glued in as a box safety. It's just nice to know that this prospective pair has roles they're clearly best suited for.
In stark contrast, Stone wasn't exactly a downhill enforcer as a run defender. That's putting it kindly.
Battle is slated to hit free agency next offseason. The Bengals probably won't prioritize extending him early over, say, DJ Turner or even Dax Hill. Given Battle's uncertain future, scoring a stud safety like Cook on the open market is all the more imperative.
We'll see how aggressive Cincinnati's brain trust actually gets to bolster this defense. Bryan Cook would be a major step in the right direction, though, and he'd free up Battle to ball out in a contract year.