CINCINNATI (WXIX) – During Zac Taylor’s head coaching career, he has rarely heaped as much praise on an opposing player as he did with Ravens All-Pro Kyle Hamilton.
“I don’t know what position you really say he plays,” Taylor said. “I don’t even know if he’s listed as a safety — that’s probably the last position he plays right now — but he’s really an effective defensive end, he’s an effective linebacker, he’s an effective nickel, he’s an effective cover guy.”
While Hamilton is the best guy in the league at what he does, he has helped spark a trend across the NFL.
When current Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023 (two of the very best defenses that Taylor and Joe Burrow have ever faced), Hamilton became the chess piece who moved all over the field. Hamilton has continued to do that in Baltimore, and now Macdonald has rookie Nick Emmanwori filling that role in Seattle.
Look at the nickel position around the NFL, and you’ll find players who really are listed as safeties. Cooper DeJean (Eagles), Jalen Pitre (Texans), Quentin Lake (Rams), Derwin James (Chargers), Minkah Fitzpatrick (Dolphins), CJ Gardner-Johnson (Bears), Grant Delpit (Browns) and Jalen Ramsey (Steelers) are a few more high-profile examples who ranked in the top-30 in the NFL in slot snaps this season.
The Falcons turned rookie safety Billy Bowman into a standout nickel corner. Budda Baker lined up everywhere in the Cardinals’ defense, and Brian Branch did the same thing in Detroit.
Using those safeties in the middle of the field allowed them to spend more time around the ball and make more plays. Behind them, those defenses were able to find role players to step up as downfield safeties and defend the deep half of the field, usually in two-high coverages. These defenses do a great job of limiting explosives, keeping things in front of you and tackling — that would be the ideal identity of the Bengals’ defense going forward.
During an era where more and more teams are throwing out of multi-tight end sets, using these safeties as big nickel corners can change the math in the favor of the defense. A key part of the success of these players in this role is their ability to stick their nose in, attack blocks, be physical against the run and tackle.
“(The Seahawks) have a vision for players that are these jokers that allow you to basically be able to be stout against the run, but still be really good in coverage, where a lot of the explosives come up,” Sean McVay told reporters this week. “They’re a group that can play a so-called lighter grouping because they go draft guys that they have a vision for.”
(Teams’ success around the NFL at finding these players through the draft has you take a closer look at Caleb Downs).
This week, there’s a great feature by Ted Nguyen at The Athletic that dives into the league-wide trend at the nickel position.
Here, let’s look at where the Bengals fit into this.
The easiest way to explain the trend to someone who watches the Bengals is by looking at the math problem that the Bengals’ offense creates with Mike Gesicki.
He’s a true tight end/receiver hybrid. Every week, defenses have decisions to make. Do you guard him with a safety or a corner? When he’s one of two Bengals tight ends on the field, do you treat the Bengals like they’re in 11 personnel (one tight end) or 12 personnel (two tight ends)? When the Bengals figure out during a game how defenses are going to be treating Gesicki on a given day, the coaches get an advantage in the cat and mouse game because they can exploit the tendencies they know they’ll be getting from the opposing defense.
The Bengals’ defense doesn’t have it’s own version of Gesicki, a guy who changes the math. The defense doesn’t have its own version of Hamilton or Emmanwori.
Right now, the Bengals have DJ Turner and Dax Hill locked in as their outside corners and Jordan Battle set to be their strong safety. The rest of the secondary is a clean slate, and the Bengals can mold it to look however they want.
A few signs point toward the Bengals being interested in adding that Swiss Army knife style of player.
First, there’s the way the everyone in the building at Paycor Stadium raves about Macdonald’s scheme. Just look at the fact that when Brian Callahan became a head coach in Tennessee in 2024, he hired Macdonald’s right hand man in Baltimore (defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson) to be the Titans’ defensive coordinator.
Look at the way that the Bengals’ scheme evolved between 2024 and 2025 after Al Golden took over as the defensive coordinator.
In 2024, Geno Stone led the NFL in snaps at free safety and rarely moved around the field. Jordan Battle filled a very specific strong safety role. Mike Hilton was the slot guy, no questions asked. Everyone did their thing.
In 2024, Stone lined up at free safety 958 times, in the slot 21 times and at strong safety/linebacker 38 times.
In 2025, Stone lined up at free safety just 729 times with 94 snaps in the slot and 102 snaps at strong safety/linebacker. Jordan Battle became a more versatile player and lined up at free safety 686 times. The cornerbacks started moving around more with Turner following top receivers and with more guys getting reps in the slot on third downs.
One of the biggest developments after the bye week was the way that Golden started using Stone and Battle as blitzers. Golden also leaned much more into Macdonald-style simulated pressures. When they caught teams off guard, you saw terrific matchups like Myles Murphy rushing one-on-one against a tight end.
A bit of a groundwork was set, but Hill was the only true Swiss Army knife on the defense (and he has settled in at outside corner, also he didn’t quite fit the run in the slot like a linebacker). In training camp, Golden tried out just about everyone in the slot. Jalen Davis ended up doing a solid job during the back half of the season, but he’s not the most versatile guy. The options on the roster weren’t enough to unlock a new level of creativity and flexibility in the scheme.
The defense needs another joker or two to take the next step and become even more versatile. This is the trend around the NFL.
Fortunately for the Bengals, they can find answers on the free agent market and in the draft.
Did you see what Jaquan Brisker did against the Rams? His ability to do a bit of everything consistently had McVay on his heels. Brisker, who will be a free agent, made physical tackles in the box (he finished the game with 14 tackles), turned a blitz that Matthew Stafford didn’t see coming into a sack (also against the Packers, Brisker’s nine blitzes were a huge part in an effective game plan) and was in coverage for four incompletions, including a pass to Puka Nacua that Brisker broke up.
During the season, he took 552 snaps at free safety, 100 snaps in the slot and 206 at strong safety/linebacker. He recorded 93 tackles and nine pressure. He can blitz, cover the deep half of the field and make plays over the middle.
Brisker has likely earned himself a good contract, and a Bears team in the rookie quarterback contract window will probably want to keep him. But even if the Bengals don’t land Brisker, they’ll have options to replace Geno Stone that wouldn’t be your traditional free safety.
Kam Curl, Jalen Thompson and Nick Cross all moved around a ton this year and fit this description. Coby Bryant and Kevin Byard didn’t move around as much in 2025, but they have extensive experience in the slot. Three sleepers who probably won’t earn a ton on the free agent market but would significantly upgrade the versatility of the secondary include Andrew Wingard, Myles Bryant and Ifeatu Melifonwu — they’re cheaper options who would give the coaches a lot to work with while allowing the front office to use most of the Bengals’ cap space on the defensive line.
Since one of these top free agent safeties could make an impact in the nickel, it’d be ideal to add a No. 3 safety through free agency or the draft who could fill in and soak up some free safety snaps on passing downs in a limited role. It’d be ideal to upgrade over Tycen Anderson in that role and find a third safety who could be a part of a rotation in specific packages.
Because of how much a versatile defensive back could unlock, I’d really consider paying more for a piece like Brisker, Curl or Cross, making that one of your two notable free agent additions (as well as a pass rusher) and then using the draft to build the rest of the defensive line.
At this point last year, as I looked for upgrades over Stone, I specifically looked at defensive backs who majored at free safety. Now, that profile has changed, and versatility feels like much more of a plus and an asset.
The most exciting addition in this defensive back role for the Bengals would be using their first-round pick on Caleb Downs. Theoretically, they could focus on the defensive line in free agency and then draft Downs, who brings a lot to the table as a middle of the field playmaker.
The best part about considering how you’d fit Downs onto the roster is how versatile he is. You could sign a versatile starting safety and also draft Downs because you’d be able to find plenty of ways to get both of those guys on the field every snap.
The Bengals have two needs in their secondary — they don’t have a slot corner or a free safety on the roster right now. Those roles don’t have to be so specific, and the blurred lines between those positions should allow the Bengals to be able to focus on adding the best and most versatile defensive backs available to them.
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