Who is Jessie Bates III?
- Bates plays safety for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL
- He was ranked the 11th best safety in the league after his rookie campaign in 2018
- He played his first Super Bowl with the Bengals in 2021, losing narrowly to the LA Rams 23-20
Jessie Bates III is an American football safety who plays in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Bengals in the third round, as the 98th overall pick.
Bates was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on 26th February 1997, and did his high schooling at Snider High School there. He played football as well as basketball there.
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Following his graduation, Bates committed to Wake Forest University to play his college football for the Deacons, where he played between 2015 and 2017. After a freshman year in which he impressed immensely, he was named to the USA Today Freshman All-American Team, the All-ACC Second-Team, and the ACC All-Freshman First-Team. He continued to impress in his sophomore season, despite missing parts of the season due to injury. Following his sophomore year, in 2017, he decided to enter the 2018 NFL Draft.
Bates became the 4th safety to be drafted in the 2018 draft, as the Cincinnati Bengals selected him in the 2nd round as the 54th overall pick. He was signed on a 4-year $4.94 million contract that included $2.38 million guaranteed as well as a signing bonus of $1.67 million.
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Initially regarded as a backup, Bates impressed right away and was named the starting safety in his rookie season. He made his NFL debut and first career start in the season opener in a 34-23 victory against the Indianapolis Colts, recording 8 solo tackles in the game. Bates started all 16 games as a rookie and led the team with 111 tackles, as well as making seven pass deflections, three interceptions, and a touchdown. With a 79.9 score from Pro Football Focus, Bates was ranked as the 11th best safety in 2018.
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In 2020, Bates was named a second-team All-Pro after a season where he made 109 tackles (78 solo), a career-high 15 passes deflected, and a forced fumble. The following year, in 2021 Bates played in his first Super Bowl- the Super Bowl LVI, but ended up on the losing side, as the Bengals lost narrowly to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20.
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