When it comes to on-the-rise Cincinnati Bengals players, it’s a little easy to overlook safety Jessie Bates.
Bates sits sandwiched between the end of a dead era and a complete roster overhaul and last year — like most on the Cincinnati defense — he struggled to adapt.
But veteran safety Shawn Williams isn’t one of those guys who has overlooked Bates, as he told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“…It’s like Jessie. He should be considered one of the elite, but it’s not that way when you’re not on a winning team and not playing in prime-time games.
He’s got a lot of upside. He’s just starting to scratch the surface because he’s so young. He’s doing everything on raw talent. Once he actually learns as he grows he should be really good.”
Williams, heart and soul of the secondary for a long time now, would know best.
And the proof has been all over the film. Bates was one of those guys who struggled in a new scheme a year ago but seemed to improve as the season progressed. Prior to that, even as a rookie, he showed signs of being that ballhawking safety the Bengals drafted him to be.
These comments come on the heels of Bates hiring a new agent as he gets ready to push for a second contract. He’s clearly on the right trajectory and the combination of his improving and the unit around him doing the same could mean he has a massive 2020.
