Bengals

Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said that S Jordan Battle has emerged as one of the leaders on the team’s defense, and they’ll continue to look to build around him.

“I feel like Jordan is a guy that’s developing a leadership role on our team, which you have to have in the back end there,” Tobin said, via SI. “I think he can factor in the box, and he can factor in deep zones as well. Those are things that we’re very positive about it.”

Bengals HC Zac Taylor believes that Battle’s best football is still yet ahead of him and is excited about his future.

“I’m encouraged about where he’s going and what he’s going to continue to do for us in the future, especially around a bunch of young players. We will see how that position plays out for us. He is a guy we continue to be excited about, and I think he is only going to be better moving forward.”

Tobin added that Battle’s missed tackles were a result of defensive failures in front of him.

“The more space you create with those guys, the tougher the tackles get,” he said. “There are no safeties in the NFL that don’t miss tackles. You just want to limit those exposures to where they have the big to gap to make up. But space causes missed tackles more than anything, so spacing is important. That plays into some of the instincts and so forth that we really want to see in that position group. But those really factor in every position on defense. Defense is reacting to what the offense does. They don’t get to dictate all the time. And they’ve gotta see it, react to it and play fast. The more comfortable they are in what they’re doing and the more time on task they have, the faster that they can play, and we saw that in some of our young guys this year. The more comfortable they got with their role, they sped up and they saw it quicker.”

• Dalton Risner signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Bengals, including $1 million guaranteed, and an additional $1.75 million in incentives. (OTC)

Browns

• Zac Jackson of The Athletic listed numerous offensive tackles the Browns should consider ahead of the upcoming draft, starting with Utah’s Spencer Fano with the first pick.
• Jackson then names Miami’s Francis Mauigoa but questions whether he will play tackle in the NFL. He also brings up Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor, but notes the fundamental issues he needs to improve.
• From there, Jackson mentions Georgia’s Monroe Freeling because of his athleticism and physical traits.
• Utah’s Caleb Lomu is the last top-30 option, and Jackson says “he’ll be seriously considered” by Cleveland.
• Moving past day one, Jackson mentions Clemson’s Blake Miller, Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor, Miami’s Markel Bell, and Texas A&M’s Dametrious Crownover.
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Browns plan to play recently-acquired OL Tytus Howard at offensive tackle despite his experience at guard and tackle.

Ravens

• Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic lists the Ravens unrestricted free agents that he believes will remain or depart in free agency this offseason, with those expected to leave including CB Chidobe Awuzie, DT Taven Bryan, G Daniel Faalele, S Alohi Gilman, WR DeAndre Hopkins, OLB Dre’Mont Jones, TE Isaiah Likely, OL Joseph Noteboom, OLB David Ojabo, DL Brent Urban, OLB Kyle Van Noy, and WR Tylan Wallace.
• Zrebiec predicts that those remaining will include P Jordan Stout, S Ar’Darius Washington, FB Patrick Ricard, C Tyler Linderbaum, TE Charlie Kolar, LB Jake Hummel, and QB Tyler Huntley. 

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