LOOK: New Falcons DB Jessie Bates III Participates in First Atlanta Workout
Jessie Bates III is taking his next step towards taking the field for the Atlanta Falcons.
The team's Twitter account dropped some footage of Bates' first workout with the team.
The Falcons signed Bates to a four-year, $64.05 million deal last month and he is expected to help elevate the team's secondary.
A second-round draft pick out of Wake Forest in 2018, Bates was a day-one starter in Cincinnati and has missed only two games throughout his five-year career.
Bates, 26, was an All-Pro in 2020 and had a strong year playing under the franchise tag this past year. Across 16 regular season games, he recorded 71 tackles, eight passes defended and four interceptions.
The 6-1, 200-pound Bates has nabbed at least three interceptions in four of his five seasons and is widely viewed as a rangy ballhawk who can patrol centerfield as a single-high free safety.
This is where Bates will have the biggest impact in Atlanta - by adding his ability over-the-top, it allows blossoming third-year safety Richie Grant to move into more of a traditional strong safety role, playing in the box and closer to the line of scrimmage, where he's at his best.
Bates, along with fellow defensive acquisitions Calais Campbell, David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss and Jeff Okudah, will be tasked with bringing the Falcons' defense to prominence once again.
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