The Bengals finally made a real move at safety this offseason, bringing in former Kansas City Chiefs defender Bryan Cook. On paper, that should help. Jordan Battle at free safety and Cook working mostly in the box gives Cincinnati a starting duo that at least looks functional, which is more than the team could say for much of recent memory.
That’s the frustrating part, though: it took this long to get here.
Cincinnati’s defense has been a problem for years, and last season’s switch from Lou Anarumo to Al Golden at defensive coordinator didn’t change that much. A lot of the blame lands on the personnel side, and the Bengals have spent this offseason trying to clean up the mess. Dexter Lawrence and the other defensive line additions drew the headlines, but Cook was a meaningful pickup too.
Still, the question hangs over the whole thing: is Cook actually the answer at safety?
ESPN’s latest safety rankings didn’t exactly settle the debate. Jeremy Fowler surveyed coaches, scouts and executives to build a top-10 list, and Cook landed in a group of 12 names after the five honorable mentions. That’s not a bad sign for Cincinnati, but it also doesn’t scream difference-maker.
What stings for Bengals fans is who showed up higher. Jessie Bates, the former Cincinnati safety, was in the top five.
So was Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori, the player many around the league clearly see as a slam-dunk talent. Those names are hard to ignore when you think about what the Bengals have been trotting out at the position.
Nick Scott, Geno Stone and Dax Hill before his position changes all passed through that spot, and none of it really solved anything. If Cook’s range really puts him around the 27th-best safety in the league, that’s at least a step toward an above-average starter. For Cincinnati, that would already be a major upgrade.
The Bates situation still lingers over all of it. Joe Burrow was openly critical when the Bengals let Bates leave in free agency for the Atlanta Falcons, and Cincinnati hasn’t been back to the playoffs since. The pain is even sharper when you look back at seasons where the Bengals finished 9-8 and wonder if Bates alone might have been worth one more win.
Then there’s the draft what-if that still hangs around. Emmanwori was there when Cincinnati picked 17th in 2025, but the Bengals went with Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart instead.
Stewart had 4.5 sacks in three college seasons. Emmanwori, meanwhile, was ranked No. 6 by ESPN, and one NFL coordinator said of Xavier Watts, another safety who made the honorable mention group, "He has a chance to be one of the best safeties in the league.
[He] has very similar qualities to his running mate [Bates]."
The Bengals passed on that whole safety tier, and it’s hard not to look back at it with some regret.
Battle did show real value in 2025 when he was deep at free safety, and Cook’s tackling should fit the box role well. That part makes sense. But the broader picture still feels like a missed opportunity, especially with Bates thriving in Atlanta and Emmanwori sitting there in reach when Cincinnati was on the clock.
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