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Jessie Bates slotting as one of the NFL’s best safeties isn’t much of a shock to fans of the Cincinnati Bengals who have followed his journey so far.
But it sure doesn’t hurt for fans on a national scale to see exposure to such an idea.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar just helped in this endeavor, tabbing Bates as the league’s fifth-best safety:
“Bates has become one of the NFL’s best and most underrated safeties, lost as he is in defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s “Uh… what the heck was THAT?” schemes. Still, Bates had another fine season in 2020, giving up 19 catches on 35 targets for 178 yards, 72 yards after the catch, one touchdown, three interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of just 42.3. Bates has the field awareness and closing speed to shut any play down. Here, Ryan Tannehill thinks he has A.J. Brown wide open in the end zone, but Bates is lying in wait for the interception.”
It’s certainly not a bad thing for Bates to only slot behind names like Justin Simmons in Denver.
Even better, Lou Anarumo’s odd approach to using his talent and the schemes employed even gets a mention here. Bates has persevered despite this and — hopefully, anyway — things will only get better for the entire unit now that corners to the coordinator’s liking are in town.
Either way, expect Bates to keep playing at an elite level and expect chatter about a contract extension soon.
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