21 Facts About Jessie Bates

1.

Jessie Bates III was born on February 26,1997 and is an American football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League.

2.

Jessie Bates played college football at Wake Forest and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

3.

Jessie Bates originally committed to play college football for the Toledo Rockets, but he flipped his commitment to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in February 2015.

4.

Jessie Bates did not play as a true freshman at Wake Forest in 2015 and chose to redshirt.

5.

Jessie Bates returned 18 punts for 73 yards along with tallying five interceptions, 100 tackles, four pass deflections and one forced fumble.

6.

In 2017, as a redshirt sophomore, Jessie Bates played in 11 of Wake Forest's 13 games, missing two due to injury.

7.

On January 4,2018, Jessie Bates announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft.

8.

Jessie Bates attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the bench press.

9.

Jessie Bates performed well and finished third among safeties in the 60-yard shuttle, fourth among safeties in three-cone drill, and fifth among safeties in the short shuttle.

10.

Jessie Bates earned the ninth best time among his position group in the 40-yard dash and had the tenth best vertical jump.

11.

On March 13,2018, Jessie Bates participated at Wake Forest's pro day and performed the bench press and short shuttle.

12.

Jessie Bates attended pre-draft visits with multiple teams, including the Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Carolina Panthers.

13.

Jessie Bates was ranked as the third best free safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.

14.

Jessie Bates entered training camp slated as a backup safety, but earned an opportunity to compete for the job as the starting free safety against George Iloka after quickly impressing the Bengals' coaching staff.

15.

Head coach Marvin Lewis named Jessie Bates the starting free safety to start the regular season, alongside strong safety Shawn Williams and cornerbacks William Jackson III and Dre Kirkpatrick.

16.

Jessie Bates made his first career interception off a pass attempt by Joe Flacco, that was originally intended for wide receiver Michael Crabtree, and returned it for a 21-yard gain in the first quarter.

17.

Jessie Bates intercepted a pass by Buccaneers' quarterback Jameis Winston, that was intended for wide receiver Adam Humphries, and returned it for a 21-yard touchdown.

18.

Jessie Bates started all 16 games as a rookie in 2018 and recorded a team-leading 111 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, three interceptions, and one touchdown.

19.

Jessie Bates received an overall grade of 79.9 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked as the 11th best grade among safeties in 2018.

20.

In Super Bowl LVI, Jessie Bates recorded his second career playoff interception, picking off Matthew Stafford in the endzone.

21.

On March 16,2023, Jessie Bates signed a four-year, $64.02 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons.