In the movie Moneyball, it was Oakland A's GM Billy Beane who told his scouting staff that they needed to replace their MVP Jason Giambi in the aggregate. Throwing quantity at a sudden void of quality became Beane's winning strategy, and it's essentially what the Cincinnati Bengals are doing at the safety position this year.

The departures of both Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell created a vacuum of talent in Cincinnati's secondary, and replacing that talent would've been a costly endeavor. Instead, the personnel department used two draft picks and a small amount of free agency funds to come up with a solution. 

That first draft pick was Dax Hill, who's got plenty of talent in his own right. Hill's status as a first-round pick should lock him in as one of two starting safeties, but how will the team decide on who plays next to him? The job might come down to using the other two additions in differing ways, all to replace production that was lost this year.

Bengals Starting Safety Competitors

Nick Scott

Scott will get the first shot, not just because of the three-year, $12 million contract he signed in March, but rather the progression he’s been riding for years now. The former seventh-round pick slowly but surely saw more action in the Los Angeles Rams’ defense and eventually became a full-time starter in the 2021 playoffs, the same postseason that ended with the Rams hoisting the Lombardi Trophy over the Bengals’ heads. 

A hard-hitting safety with range to boot, Scott's career has been ascending to the point where he's now a chess piece in Lou Anarumo's versatile defense. He can cover ground in deep shells while also roaming underneath zones to provide run support. 

Much like Hill, don't expect him to stick at one spot in the defensive backfield. Having true versatility was one of many reasons the Bengals sought after him this offseason.  

Jordan Battle

Though very few saw another safety entering the fray so early in the NFL Draft, Battle might just screw around and play hundreds of snaps this season. He might even end up on top of Scott on the depth chart by December.

Rookies are usually too busy playing keep up to earn a starter's role over a veteran, but the main form of praise Battle received right after being drafted was how sharp his mind for the game is. A multi-year starter in Alabama's secondary earned him a reputation for being quick-thinking and mentally apt. 

His learning curve into the NFL may end up being much flatter than it is for most rookie safeties, and his role should end up being focused on contributing in the box, where he had the most success in college. 

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The equalizer between Scott and Battle is that they both arrived in Cincinnati a month apart from one another. As green as Battle is in the NFL, he's just as new to the defense as Scott is, which should make training camp very interesting.

A true winner may not even emerge from this competition. Scott and Battle both come with varying strengths and weakness. If they're both trustworthy in the eyes of Anarumo, they may end up playing near equal snaps by the end of the season. 

Bengals starter ‘itching’ to get reps while recovering from injury

His limited action is only temporary.

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