Jordan Battle NFL Draft Prospect Profile and Scouting Report

Name: Jordan Battle

School: Alabama

Year: Sr

Position: Safety

Measurables: 6’1”, 209 lbs.

Combine: Vertical- 29.5”, Broad- 9’6”, Shuttle- 4.37, 3-cone- 7.31, 40-yard dash- 4.55, Bench- 17 reps

Stats:

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

 

General Info:

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Battle attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School where he had 27 tackles, three interceptions and a sack as a senior.

Battle opted to play his college ball at Alabama after originally committing to Ohio State. He saw immediate playing time as a freshman, appearing in all 12 games of the 2019 season including four starts.

He became a regular starter in 2020 season and racked up more than 200 tackles over the next three seasons, along with six interceptions and a sack.

During his career at Alabama, Battle earned two first team All-SEC selections and won a national title in 2020. He also has the highest PFF grade of any safety in 2023 class.

On draft day, Battle will be 22 years old.

 

Positional Skills:

Strengths

Battle is a versatile safety, and an experienced one for his age, having served in a variety of roles for the Crimson Tide. He has more than 1,200 snaps as a free safety, over 700 down in the box and almost 600 in the slot.

The former Alabama defensive back has good size for the position and the speed to go with it, testing in the 77th percentile for height, the 71st percentile for weight and the 81st percentile for the 40-yard dash among all the safeties to have entered the draft in NFL history.

Something that stands out on Battle’s tape is his eagerness to get involved in the play. He shows the ability to range down from a deep safety position and be a disruptor in the run game. Battle arrives on the scene quickly and with intent.

He is a sure tackler and accumulated robust tackle production during his career at Alabama. When defending the run, Battle shows the effort and ability to get off or slip blocks.

Against the pass, Battle displays the movement skills to stay with his target and the chops to survive in man coverage. He also shows the awareness to locate and make plays on the football.

On top of his work on defense, Battle played over 600 snaps on special teams in college.

Weaknesses

The biggest red flag for Battle is the poor athletic testing he posted in some areas. He scored in just the 10th percentile in the vertical jump, the 27th percentile in the broad jump, the 40th percentile in the shuttle and the 24th percentile in the 3-cone.

These results are surprising and are not reflected in his tape, where he shows no lack of explosion or agility, and they were not enough to make him a below average overall athlete at the safety position – Battle posted a 5.94 Relative Athletic Score out of a possible 10 – but they must still be factored into his evaluation.

Another criticism of Battle could be that he is simply solid, rather than spectacular.

In coverage, he plays more of a reactionary, downhill role than one of an anticipatory ballhawk. You will see him give up underneath routes without much resistance at times, and his relatively low ball production in college indicates he is not a true playmaker.

While there is nothing wrong with putting the ‘safe’ in ‘safety’, it may ultimately limit his ceiling and therefore his draft stock.

 

Fit with the Packers:

The Packers are short on sure things at safety, and Battle seems like as much of a known quantity as you will find in the draft at the position.

He has the size, speed, and demeanor to be a consistent producer in the run game, and he should be steady and serviceable in coverage at the very least.

Battle could be trusted to see the field on defense early, and his special teams experience will also appeal to Rich Bisaccia.

His closer-to-average athletic testing could take him out of Green Bay’s thinking in the first two rounds, but Battle could make sense for the Packers as early as round three and would be a welcome addition to the secondary.