The Cincinnati Bengals had one of the worst defensive units in the NFL last year. It wasn’t particularly good at any level outside of DJ Turner II’s breakout season, but the safety position is one that fans have had eyes on since the Geno Stone experiment was essentially confirmed to be a failure.

While Stone’s play drew the ire of much of the fanbase, second-year safety Jordan Battle was taking some heat as well. Specifically, Battle’s missed tackle rate was higher than you’d like to see, and that was highlighted with Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland bouncing off of Battle and rumbling in for what would be a game-winning touchdown.

The Bengals will almost certainly look in to a replacement for Stone, but what about Battle?

When Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin met with the media this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, he certainly sounded like a man who not only believes in Battle but isn’t looking to replace him either.

“I feel like Jordan is a guy that’s developing a leadership role on our team, which you have to have in the back-end there. I think he can factor in the box, and he can factor in deep zones as well. Those are things that we’re very positive about,” Tobin said.

Later, head coach Zac Taylor seemed to give Battle a strong endorsement as well.

“I’m encouraged about where he’s going and what he’s going to continue to do for us in the future, especially around a bunch of young players. We will see how that position plays out for us. He is a guy we continue to be excited about, and I think he is only going to be better moving forward,” Taylor said.

While Battle was part of a Bengals defense that struggled mightily at times, it appears the team is still banking on his improvement, and heading in to only his third season, Battle should take a step forward and what is looking like his second season as a starter.

However, this is nothing more than talk for now. Let’s see how things play out in free agency and the draft before declaring that Battle’s starting job is secure.