Why Safety Jordan Battle Is Prospect Lions Should Watch Week 2

Why Alabama Crimson Tide safety Jordan Battle could be a fit for the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Detroit Lions’ secondary is heading into an important 2022 season.

Outside of safety Tracy Walker, many of the players within secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant’s position group are heading into prove-it seasons.

Because of this uncertainty, the Lions could be looking at the possibility of drafting a safety should the unit falter in 2022. 

Atop the list of players would be Alabama’s Jordan Battle.

Battle is in action Saturday when the Crimson Tide take on Texas at Noon on Fox. He’s coming off a season-opening win over Utah State in which he had four total tackles.

The safety passed on the 2022 NFL Draft to return to school and is entering his senior season. He’s been a contributor since the 2019 season, playing 12 games as a true freshman. He made 30 total tackles in 2019 and 66 in 2020 before breaking out with 85 stops and three interceptions in 2021.

Much of what Battle is able to do is a credit to his athleticism and understanding of the game. Both are key traits and a reason why he could be one of the first defensive backs off the board.

“A wiry thin safety with good length and athleticism for the position,” reads his scouting report on SI’s NFL Draft Bible. “An incredibly smart football player who you can tell understands the whole defensive scheme at Alabama. He plays with strong instincts as a short zone defender or robber, knowing when he can or cannot take risks within the scheme of the defense.”

His eyes are another strong suit, as he is very disciplined in the back half of the Crimson Tide defense. In his career, he’s notched five interceptions and has a skill for baiting quarterbacks.

“Impressive eye discipline keying the quarterback in zone coverage, showing a natural feel for leveraging routes and seeing concepts develop,” His scouting report reads. “Good hip fluidity to turn and run without losing speed, flipping his hips with ease without false steps or losing balance.”

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Though the eye discipline is a plus, Battle struggles at times with his abilities to react to the pass. At times, he’s late to close on a play and, instead of intercepting the ball, the play ends with a breakup.

“Lacks instincts with his eyes on the quarterback, he fails to anticipate routes or throws to make plays on them,” writes an NFL Draft Bible scout. “Even when he has a chance to make a play, he just bats the ball down.”

Among Battle’s listed flaws is what scouts perceive to be a lack of range in the secondary. The athleticism brings a lot to like, but sometimes that doesn’t translate into making the big plays in key moments.

Because of the lack of back-end range, he is able to make up for that by being tenacious as a zone defender. Battle also struggles at times with pursuit angles.

“He does not provide much range on the backend and does most of his work in underneath zones or in the box,” reveals the NFL Draft Bible’s report. “Plays with a lack of urgency at times, not triggering fast enough to run alleys downhill and bring runs down closer to the line of scrimmage.”

His coverage abilities aren’t poor, though, as he does a good job matching up with tight ends in man-to-man and plays well in zone.

Overall, Battle is a rising safety prospect who elected to return to Alabama rather than go pro after the loss in the NCAA title game. That 2021 season saw him earn an 88 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest of his first three seasons.

Among his best graded skills consistently has been his coverage, as he earned an 89.7 coverage grade from PFF last season as well.

He’ll be tested Saturday as Texas hosts the Crimson Tide led by redshirt freshman phenom Quinn Ewers behind center. Among the Longhorns’ weapons are running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Xavier Worthy.

Battle should have a hand in stopping both, with Robinson providing a challenge in the running game that the safety will have to help stop. His ability to play at an angle and close running lanes in the box will be tested.

That ability to close and make tackles downhill is important, and it’s something Battle can still improve upon early in the 2022 season. He’s a rising prospect who, with a good year, could be someone who the Lions consider adding to help bolster their young defense.