State of the Position

The Safety spot should see some turnover, if not complete turnover. Jordan Battle will probably be back to start. He was ok but not a star. There is a world where he isn’t on the team in 2027. He’s only 25 and will be a free agent after this year. There is talk of extending him but that shouldn’t come until the preseason and should be dependent on who else is has been added.

Geno Stone won’t be back. He’s already signed off on Instagram. Too many missed tackles and too little playmaking.

Tycen Anderson is a pro bowl level special teamer that just doesn’t get a chance from scrimmage. He has 65 total snaps. I am betting that doesn’t change this year but I would also bet that the free agent is back.

Daijohn Anthony and PJ Jules are two guys with some upside. Jules made the roster last year and played well in limited snaps. He looked like a solid athlete in the preseason. Anthony played rarely due to injury this year and will be remembered for his penalty against the Chiefs.

Russ Yeast has been in the league for years but is just 27 years old. He has 10 starts for the Rams years ago.

Need

The need is clear. Replace Stone and maybe replace Battle. I say maybe because you have to replace Stone and then you probably take a safety early in the draft.

Candidates

Stars

Bryan Cook is the top player in the free agency safety group. He’s 27 in September, has great PFF scores. He has 47 career starts and 85 tackles this year. He played primarily free safety but also the box and slot. He is a former University of Cincinnati player as well as being from Cincinnati. My biggest concerns are poor coverage grades in previous years and a passer rating against of 128.5 this year.

Minkah Fitzpatrick is still under contract with the Dolphins but rumors of his trade or release are rampant. He’s an impact playmaker still at 29. Last year he played primarily in the slot but over his career he has played mostly at free safety. His base salary is 15.6 so a trade seems unlikely.

Kevin Byard would be an ideal addition. Although he’s 33 he is a captain who played for Desai in 2023. He has started 155 games in his career and had seven interceptions last season. He was on a two year 15-million-dollar deal in Chicago.

Jaylyn Hawkins is 29, has started 47 games over his career and had four ints this year. He played primarily at free safety but also in the box and slot. 2025 was his best year per PFF. It was also his most snaps.

Jalen Thompson is my favorite of the group. He is 28 with 87 career starts. His snaps were split pretty evenly between the slot, free safety and the box. He’s coming of a three year 36 million dollar deal. His PFF tackling grades are excellent.

Starters

Alohi Gilman bounced over to the Ravens this season. He started 12 games with snaps mostly coming across free safety and the box. He had six passes defensed but no interceptions. In his six year career he only has five interceptions.

Coby Bryant is another former UC player from Ohio. He’s just 27 and played primarily free safety this year however he played mostly in the slot as a rookie. This season he had 4 interceptions. He had an extremely low tackle rating per PFF.

Jaquan Brisker is only 27 as well. He has started 52 career games and might have the most diverse snap profile as he also played some DL. His coverage grades aren’t great but his tackling grades are. He only has 5 career interceptions.

Andre Cisco has started 55 career games over his career in Jacksonville and New York. During that time he has eight career interceptions and 25 passes defensed. He is just 26.

Nick Cross is a player that we have been tied to. He will be 25 in the fall and has 38 career starts including 17 this season. He had bad coverage scores and overall scores for PFF across 1111 snaps. Like Brisker he saw time at DL. Overall he had 120 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 5 passes defensed.

A’rdarius Washington was out much of this season before returning late. He is also 26. When her returned this year he played primarily in the slot. He had solid coverage and overall grades as a starter in Baltimore in 2024. Size is a question as he is listed at just 5’8 177.

Andrew Wingard has 44 career starts, 16 of them this season. He is 29 and has six career interceptions. PFf has him as being bad in coverage but good against the run.

Reed Blankenship had a very down year after two solid years starting in Philadelphia. His coverage grades were Abysmal this season. He just turned 27 and has 50 career starts and 9 career interceptions.

Flyers

Jimmie Ward didn’t play in 2025 but he has 99 career starts. When he played in 24 he had solid tackling and coverage numbers. He is 35.

Harrison Smith is even older at 37. He started 12 games last year for the Vikings and has 203 total. In 2025 he broke up 10 passes but his PFF tackle score was poor.

Elijah Hicks didn’t play much in 2025 but was solid in his first three years. He is just 27 and has played primarily free safety. In his limited snaps he has no interceptions and just 2 pass break ups.

 

The Bengals need to get someone from the Starts or Starters list to pair with Battle. The tea leaves say that’s Nick Cross but I would much rather have Thompson or Byard.

 

14 hours ago, MichaelWeston said:

Bryan Cook is the top player in the free agency safety group. He’s 27 in September, has great PFF scores. He has 47 career starts and 85 tackles this year. He played primarily free safety but also the box and slot. He is a former University of Cincinnati player as well as being from Cincinnati. My biggest concerns are poor coverage grades in previous years and a passer rating against of 128.5 this year.

You called it, Mr. Weston!

Cook is certainly an upgrade from Stone and maybe the long sought heir to Bates.

The team has been talking up Battle all offseason, which seems delusional. The test of whether they actually believe what they say is if they give him an extension or not. The way they talk, he'd be justified in asking for 10 mil per year. No way they should pay that much for him and I wouldn't be surprised if we draft a safety in the first 4 rounds to replace Battle.