The Cincinnati Bengals paid up big in free agency for safety Bryan Cook, the franchise’s latest bid to fix the Jessie Bates mistake from years ago.
It remains to be seen whether Cook can excel in new surroundings on a unit badly in need of help. But his work so far in the pros with the Kansas City Chiefs at least has him cracking “best of” lists this offseason.
An annual list of player rankings from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, which polls NFL executives, coaches and more, has Cook ranked in the “also receiving votes” category alongside the likes of Minkah Fitzpatrick.
For whatever it’s worth, Jessie Bates, still with the Atlanta Falcons, ranks fifth overall on the list.
As for Cook, the Bengals landed the fourth-ranked safety in the NFL out of 98 graded by Pro Football Focus last year via a three-year deal worth $40.25 million.
All that really matters? Bengals safeties from last year weren’t sniffing a list like this. And if Cook can be part of the solution to a major problem that helps Jordan Battle develop, too, they will be more than happy to watch the rest of the league keep sleeping on him.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: NFL execs, coaches not fully sold on Bengals’ free-agent signing yet
