Publicly, the Cincinnati Bengals have largely postured as a team that is content with the Geno Stone and Jordan Battle pairing at safety going into next season.
But this could be another case of needing to watch what they do, not what they say.
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As The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. pointed out, safety suddenly looks like the No. 2 position to watch ahead of the NFL draft this month:
“The vague nature of the Geno Stone conversation and a top 30 visit by South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori to Cincinnati show the club’s close attention paid to this position. A player who could challenge Stone on opening day is an important element here.”
That note about the top-30 visit with Nick Emmanwori says it all. It goes beyond due diligence and suggests the South Carolina standout should rank pretty highly on their big board as the draft unfolds and he could easily be in the conversation.
It’s a scary proposition for Bengals fans, considering the last swing on an early safety flopped. They drafted Dax Hill as the eventual successor when Jessie Bates left and haven’t recovered since. Hill is now technically going into his third position change this summer.
After pouring so much cash into the offensive side of the ball, though, the Bengals also need instant impacts from rookies. Drafting an early safety doesn’t guarantee that impact and might think more long-term, just like the Hill signing.
It’s a tricky place for the Bengals to be ahead of the draft yet again and with no easy answer. Fans, at least, should keep the safety idea on their radar going into the event, it seems.
