2023 NFL Draft: 5 rookies who landed on perfect teams
By John Buhler
Scouting Report. S. 3. 56. Pick Analysis. Alabama Crimson Tide. Jordan Battle. player
Lou Anarumo gets another terrific playmaker in his secondary with Jordan Battle
Despite losing Jessie Bates III to my Atlanta Falcons, I love what the Cincinnati Bengals did near the top of the draft. This may be the last year Lou Anarumo is their defensive coordinator, but Duke Tobin did a fantastic job of getting him high-end talent for his defense. While Myles Murphy and D.J. Turner were excellent picks in their own right, Jordan Battle in the third round is a steal.
With Joe Burrow playing pretty much one more year on a relatively cheap contract, the Bengals need to go for broke and try to win the Super Bowl now. Burrow is going to get paid handsomely, whether or not Mike Brown wants to do that. Cincinnati has to accept that Anarumo and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan are living on borrowed time as hot-shot coordinators with the Bengals.
What I like about Battle to the Bengals is he will make a few plays in the back end of their defense that can flip games. To be fair, Cincinnati already has plenty of players on that side of the ball with a knack for making something happen, none more so than Sam Hubbard in the front seven. Losing Bates is not going to help, but the Bengals might have drafted the next version of him with Battle.
Until proven otherwise, the Bengals should remain a top-three team in the AFC going forward.