The Cincinnati Bengals have made one thing crystal clear in the first two days of the 2023 NFL Draft -- They're making sure that they get young, cheap players on defense. Jordan Battle was their third-round pick and it was the second straight year where Cincy spent their first three picks on defensive players.
The Bengals originally held the 92nd overall pick but they swapped picks with the Chiefs and Kansas City nabbed an offensive tackle. Meanwhile, the Bengals moved back to 95, gained a sixth-round pick, and then bided their time and drafted Battle 95th overall.
The Alabama safety seemed to be a bit of a surprise amongst the fans. The Bengals did lose both of their starting safeties this past offseason but Dax Hill and Nick Scott are in line to start in those places.
The safety pick is surprising, no question. Offers depth, and BPA is always part of this, but there's a lot of other of positions that could use a Day 2 prospect.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) April 29, 2023
Stay true to their board.
Bengals select Jordan Battle with the 95th pick
Battle will now join a safety room of Hill, Scott, Tycen Anderson, Brandon Wilson, Michael Thomas, and Yusuf Corker. If Hill or Scott were to get injured, it'll be nice to have Battle there as depth but it did feel as though there were other directions Cincinnati could have gone in with this pick.
Zac Taylor did note that Battle would be someone they'd look to play special teams and while that's all fine and dandy, spending a third-round pick on someone to contribute on special teams seems unnecessary.
Hey, at the end of the day, Lou Anarumo has a vision for his defense and if Jordan Battle gets his seal of approval, that should suffice for Bengals fans.