Jordan Battle makes play of preseason for Bengals with pick-6 on Anthony Richardson

Second-year safety Jordan Battle is coming off of an impressive rookie campaign for the Cincinnati Bengals, and he made the play of the preseason for the team with the pick-six he had against Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Anthony Richardson in the first quarter of the preseason finale.

Battle read the route perfectly, jumped it and took it back 14 yards the other way for a Bengals touchdown -- their first of the game. You can check out the play below:

That play incapsulates why the Bengals are so excited about Battle's potential after his productive inaugural campaign. He tallied 71 total tackles, five passes defended, three QB hits, two sacks and an interception last season. He also played in all 17 games for Cincinnati and started in seven.

But, despite his promising play as a rookie, Battle's role heading into his second season remains to be seen, as the team added not one, but two starting-caliber safeties in free agency in Geno Stone and Vonn Bell. Those two are currently listed as the starters on the team's most recent depth chart.

But even if Battle doesn't start, he should still see plenty of on-field opportunity, as he appears to be the future of the safety spot in Cincinnati. The team would be foolish to allow him to languish on the bench, even with all of the added talent at the position. Battle played in 48 percent of all of Cincinnati's defensive snaps last season. It will be interesting to see if that number increases in 2024.

The fact that the pick-six came against Richardson probably makes it a little sweeter for Battle and the rest of Cincinnati's secondary, too, as the unit had some fun at Richardson's expense during the joint practice between the two teams prior to the game.