Falcons’ Calais Campbell on Jessie Bates: ‘He’s cut from a different cloth’

Bates, who signed a four-year, $64.02 million contract last year in free agency, leads the Falcons with 128 tackles and six interceptions. He has been a stalwart all season and has three forced fumbles and was named to the Pro Bowl on Wednesday.

“I would say not surprised at all,” Bates said. “I had confidence in myself that I was one of the best players, whether I had six picks or if I had one pick. I always thought what I brought to the table was some of the best work in this league, and that’s what I believe in. Now, that the stats are a little bit higher this year, that doesn’t change how confident I am in myself and my teammates.”

Bates was drafted by the Bengals in the second round (54th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft after a stellar career at Wake Forest. He was named second-team All-Pro in his third season in the league and helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl in his fourth season.

He played 2022 on the $12.9 million franchise tag. The Bengals, with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase’s contract extensions coming up, didn’t think they had enough money under the long-term salary cap for Bates, too.

Signing with the Falcons was not popular in some of Bates’ circles.

“I’m just super thankful to have really good coaches, really good players around me so that I can do my job,” Bates said. “When I came over here, a lot of people thought (I) was making a bad decision. I looked at it as a challenge.”

Bates saw similarities between the Bengals and the Falcons.

“To come in here, we had that rebuild in Cincinnati, and I thought this was the same thing, the same process,” Bates said. “A great city. A great place to come in and rebuild, become a playoff team, and we’ve gotten close to that.”

Even if the Falcons don’t make the playoffs this season, Bates believes they’re headed in the right direction.

“We’re not done, but yeah, I think that was my idea with it being a turnaround,” Bates said. “People questioning that decision, but I think it worked out pretty well for me so far.”

When defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was lost for the rest of the season after Game 8, Bates had to step forward to help lead the defense.

“His presence is pretty big in the locker room,” Bates said. “Coach always asked him to talk pregame and postgame. That wasn’t always my strength.”

Campbell went to Bates and asked him to speak up more.

“He walked up to me and was like hey, I need you to talk,” Bates said. “I’m like oh (expletive), I have to think of something. I’m like a big planner, and I try to have something at least on mind, a message that I want to give the guys. I am happy that an OG (original gangster) like Calais kind of gave me the confidence to kind of step up.”

Campbell, a 16-year NFL veteran, has enjoyed working with Bates.

“He’s going full speed every play, and he’s a guy who really doesn’t come off the field,” Campbell said. “That’s hard to do. We’re averaging like 75 plays a game, and that’s just impressive.”

Bates also does a good job with his film preparation.

“There are so many hours that go into that,” Campbell said. “Then you have to take care of your body to make sure you’re available. There are countless other things that go into that.”

Bates is ready to continue to make his presence felt.

“When I was in Cincinnati, it was a completely different conference,” Bates said. “AFC, the NFC is a little bit different. I think there have been more opportunities for me to go get the ball this year. In Cincinnati, I thought we had a really good defense. Sometimes it was too good because you couldn’t make any plays.

“It’s part of the game. Some years you’re going to have a lot of tackles, some years you are not. As long as you stay the same person and become a better player every year, that’s the goal. It doesn’t really matter about the stats.”

Spoken like a true Pro Bowler.

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