Cincinnati Bengals select Jordan Battle in third round of 2023 NFL Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals have selected Alabama safety Jordan Battle with the No. 95 overall pick, in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Battle is the latest Crimson Tide defender to be selected with a high pick in the NFL Draft. He joins his cornerback Patrick Surtain II as starters in the secondary from the 2020 Alabama national championship winning football team to be selected in the NFL Draft.

A four-star recruit, Battle made three starts as a freshman in 2019 before becoming a full-time starter in 2020. He has been one of the best defenders on the Crimson Tide the last few seasons.

He earned All-SEC first team honors as both a junior and a senior. He also earned various All-American honors from different outlets across the nation both seasons, ranging from the first team to the third team.

Battle attended the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, where he was the No. 46 overall recruit and No. 3 safety in the 2019 On3 Industry Ranking. The On3 Industry is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four major recruiting media services. The On3 Industry Ranking is the most advanced, complete and unbiased rating and ranking measurement in the industry. 

What NFL draft analysts are saying about Jordan Battle

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says that Battle has the ability to upgrade a defense right away as an impact rookie. He compares Battle to Justin Reid.

“Battle offers the size, speed and pedigree to become a starter early in his NFL career,” Zierlein wrote in his report. “Film study shows a certain sageness to his game. He is usually where he needs to be on the field and helps his defense move on to the next play. He’s athletic enough for man coverage and is field-aware as a split safety. He’s not a thumper in run support and will miss tackles when he’s slow to find his positioning, but he typically finishes plays that are in front of him. Battle has the physical and mental makeup to upgrade a defense in need of steady safety play.”

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt is not a draft expert. But as the No. 1 college football color commentator for Fox, he has watched a lot of tape on players like Battle.

Klatt thinks Battle can be an NFL player early in his career.

“Battle is a guy that I really love watching on tape,” Klatt said. “You fall even more in love with him when you talk with people around the program, when you talk with coaching staffs that played against Alabama. All-American third team the last couple of years. And I don’t think that he’s got the natural ability that maybe some of the Bama defensive backs have in the past, but here’s what he does have. Great instincts. He’s highly intelligent. He can play centerfield. He understands how to get after the ball and has good ball skills for the interceptions, and I think it’s his intelligence that is going to make him such a good and productive player early in his career.”