It's fair to question Bengals' safety strategy despite Bryan Cook signing

The Cincinnati Bengals have struggled mightily on defense in recent years. Last season's switch at defensive coordinator from Lou Anarumo to Al Golden wasn't so fruitful. Much of the blame falls on the personnel department.

Thankfully, it dawned on Duke Tobin or somebody in the talent evaluation business that the dudes on the Bengals' worst side of the ball just weren't good enough. While Dexter Lawrence and the other defensive line additions made headlines this offseason, former Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook was a major get as well.

But is Cook really the answer at that long-troubled position in Cincinnati's secondary?

At least on paper, Jordan Battle at free safety and Cook predominantly in the box should help the Bengals improve in 2026. It's just a bummer that it took this long to have an acceptable starting duo in place — especially given certain alternatives.

ESPN safety rankings give Bengals' Bryan Cook a fringe mention (well behind a couple painful names)

Four-letter network insider Jeremy Fowler has done a commendable job tiding us fans over before NFL training camps open with his surveys of coaches, scouts, and executives. They've been tasked with ranking the top 10 players at each position in the league. Safety is the latest spot up.

Although it's nice to see Cook get some love in the also-rans section, I will say it's quite painful to behold the likes of ex-Bengal Jessie Bates in the top five. Oh, and a slam-dunk draft pick Cincinnati missed out on in Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl champ Nick Emmanwori, who's ranked No. 6.

Cook is amongst a clump of 12 names in no indicated order who were after the list of five honorable mentions.

To be fair, if we do the math, and take this hierarchy at face value, if Cook's floor is the 27th-best safety in the sport, he'll more or less be an above-average starter. That's far superior to what the Bengals have "enjoyed" in recent years with players like Nick Scott, Geno Stone, and Dax Hill before he changed positions (twice).

Joe Burrow was publicly critical of the organization when they let Bates walk in free agency to the Atlanta Falcons. No coincidence that the Bengals haven't returned to the playoffs since his departure.

Throwback clips like this one just make me sad, yo.

You can't tell me Bates wouldn't have been worth one win in either of the seasons where Cincinnati posted 9-8 records. The latter of those was 2024, when Burrow played like an MVP, only to be let down by his atrocious defense.

As for Emmanwori, he was never in the Bengals' building like Bates, yet he was sitting right there in the 2025 draft when Cincy went on the clock with the 17th overall pick. They went with Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart, who had a total of 4.5 sacks in three college seasons.

Call me a revisionist historian if you want. All I'm saying is, I had Emmanwori as the No. 23 prospect on my big board. Shemar was 52nd, one spot behind Bates' Falcons teammate and ex-Al Golden Notre Dame pupil, Xavier Watts.

Yeah, I was livid on draft night. Still am. The Bengals had a glaring need at safety.

PS, Watts was an honorable mention on ESPN's safety rankings, with the following quote from an NFL coordinator:

"He has a chance to be one of the best safeties in the league. [He] has very similar qualities to his running mate [Bates]."

Let's hope the light goes on for Shemar sooner rather than later, eh?

Had he been drafted to play in the Queen City, whether Emmanwori was a box safety or a nickelback like the Seahawks made him into, he would've been a major help last year and beyond. Dax could've moved back to the boundary far sooner with Emmanwori in the slot.

Oh well. Battle was a beast in coverage in 2025 when he was at deep safety. Cook is one of the surest tacklers in the entire league and should be more of a box guy for the Bengals. It still eats at me a little seeing how well Bates has played in Atlanta, where his career has basically gone to waste, and knowing Emmanwori was well within Cincinnati's grasp in the draft.

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