Bengals 2023 Position Review: Safeties

A look at the safety position in 2023

Tupac once said that change is good for any of us, but losing Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in a single offseason was tough on the Bengals.

Key Players

• Dax Hill
• Jordan Battle
• Nick Scott
• Tycen Anderson

2023 Review

Anticipating Bates’ departure in 2023, the Bengals spent a 2022 first-round pick on Michigan’s Dax Hill.

But, no one saw the loss of Vonn Bell coming. The team’s response was to sign Nick Scott, on the back of one full year as a starter for the Los Angeles Rams.

Then came another surprise. The Bengals could not believe their luck that Jordan Battle, a player whom they coveted for his football intelligence, was still available to them in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Unlike Hill a year earlier, Battle found his way to the field pretty quickly and eventually usurped Nick Scott in the starting lineup.

Hill showed some nice flashes but gave up too many big plays due to the dirtiest word in Zac Taylor’s vocabulary: inconsistency.

As for Anderson, he was primarily a special teams player who didn’t see many defensive snaps. And that was before he tore his ACL, his second straight year with a season-ending injury. The 2022 fifth-round pick is not a lock to make the roster.

2024 Outlook

Battle hit the ground running and I expect him to only improve in 2024. With another year in the system, he should be confident getting the secondary lined up.

We have to remember that Dax Hill was essentially a nickel in college and was in his first full season starting as a safety. He has got some great tools. He is rangy, has ball skills, and can play man-to-man. Hill just needs to get comfortable and put it all together.

Scott will likely be in more of a Tycen Anderson role, as a reserve safety and primary special teamer.