The Bengals were expecting Jordan Battle to take a major step forward this season with the addition of veteran Bryan Cook alongside him at safety. Instead, it looks like the same inconsistent player the Bengals have seen the last several years.
Jordan Battle currently has a 38.1 coverage grade on the season. He also has a 15.0% missed tackle rate. That mark is 10th worst among 46 qualified safeties that have played 80% of their team’s snaps so far this season. More concerning than the missed tackles for me is just how often he takes poor angles and doesn’t even get there to officially get credited with a missed tackle.
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During the first week of the season against Tampa Bay, it felt like Battle was very inconsistent, at best. He made some plays, but he was also arguably the poorest-performing player of the starters on the defense that day. He missed tackles, he took poor angles to the football, and didn’t look like a player you could count on if you wanted to see a vastly improved defense for the entire season.
Battle was able to bounce back with a better performance in Houston. However, that was a game where the Bengals generated 41 pressures, mostly by the guys up front. A dominant performance like that can typically help to mask the deficiencies of someone in the secondary.
Regardless, we will say that was a solid performance from Jordan Battle in Houston.
On Sunday, I thought Battle was awful. The poor angles, the missed tackles, and just a general lack of effort at times to go and make a play all reared their ugly heads during this one.
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Meanwhile, Bryan Cook was battling injuries throughout the game. While I am sure that might not have helped Battle on the day, it is still his job to go out there and make plays. At minimum, you cannot have a lack of effort as we saw at times against the Steelers.
His day in coverage wasn’t any better on Sunday. Battle finished with a 40.3 coverage grade on Sunday. One play in particular was directly responsible for the Steelers’ second touchdown of the game. Battle came up and was beat by Ben Skowronek for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
The player that I would like to see get a shot next to a healthy Bryan Cook would be Kyle Dugger. Dugger had to play quite a few snaps in place of the injured Cook for much of the game on Sunday, and I thought he looked pretty good out there. He also came out of the game dinged up, so the health of him and Cook will be something to watch this week.
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However, if both can play, I would have them as my two starters this week. Dugger finished the game with 8 tackles and a pass defense during the game. His physicality, effort, and ability to finish tackles in the open field were all a cut above what we are seeing from Jordan Battle this year.
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When everyone is healthy, do you think Kyle Dugger should replace Jordan Battle in the starting lineup at safety? Sound off in the comments.
