Bengals take a look at safety hailing from Jessie Bates’ alma mater

Bengals DB coach was at Wake Forest checking out their newest safety prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft.

With the addition of Geno Stone in free agency, the Cincinnati Bengals safety position looks pretty full.

With two recent early draft picks in Jordan Battle and Dax Hill, plus Stone signed to take more of the free safety snaps, the Bengals should have a good three-man rotation. Adding in a healthy Tycen Anderson makes the Bengals’ depth look good as well.

However, the Bengals seem like they may not be fully settled at the position. A Bengals secondary coach was reportedly at the Wake Forest pro day to watch safety Malik Mustapha.

Mustapha may come from the same school as Jessie Bates, but he played the position very differently, with more snaps down in the box than in the free safety position.

The Bengals could be considering adding another safety for a few reasons, the main one being the fourth safety, Tycen Anderson, suffering a torn ACL in Week 8 of last year. Not even at the halfway point of the season could point to a beginning-of-season return, but it can be tough to rely on players coming off ACL injuries, as sometimes they can come back and play but won’t have all of the athleticism until their second year removed from injury.

Another reason the Bengals could be looking to add another safety is the versatility that Dax Hill brings. With Hill seemingly being able to play some slot corner and cover tight ends and running backs, it could open up a lot more versatile alignments.

And if the Bengals are inclined, it could allow them to carry just five cornerbacks and five safeties.