Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates finished behind only Aaron Donald and T.J. Watt in Defensive Player of the Year honors at Pro Football Focus.
PFF unveiled the honors this week, where Bates landed as an honorable mention as DPOTY behind Watt of the Steelers and Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.
Bates also landed as an honorable mention in the “best coverage defender” category behind Xavien Howard of the Miami Dolphins and Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers.
It’s a nice nod for Bates, who was a borderline ridiculous Pro Bowl snub and was only named a second-team All-Pro. He had a gigantic breakout season in 2020, picking off three passes, recording 87 tackles and only letting up 19 receptions on 35 targets, making him the highest-graded safety at PFF with a 90.1 grade.
Snubs and other details aside, Bates probably won’t complain about the mentions here. Nor should the Bengals, who might work with their star defender on an extension this offseason.
