Back then, Joe Burrow just knew him as the kid from Cincy. And when he bumped into the Chiefs' young safety after a play and took time from one of their suffocating final-field-goal-tug-of-wars to tell him to keep going, it helped lift Bryan Cook out of his rookie blues.

Four years later, Burrow, now his teammate, pumped up Cook again this week as he praised the leadership the new veterans are bringing into the locker room.

"You see that out of Bryan Cook from Day One," Burrow said. "You can tell that he's going to set a standard in that room and make everybody live up to it and put pressure on everybody if they don't."

When word filtered back, Cook seemed to be as delighted as he was that night at Paycor.

"Appreciate that. That's real love from Joe B. for real. I don't know what to say." Cook said. "I'm doing the best I can learning the system and learning the plays, learning the guys and the locker room. Just be who I can be for the team and go from there."

Where it looks like he could be going is to a potential captain's "C,' on his chest after signing his Bengals contract while wearing the "C,' hat of his hometown Reds.

"Committed. Locked in. Good dude," says cornerback Dax Hill, who sits next to Cook's corner locker, and corner lockers always seem to be a sports version of a captain's chair.

"I feel like he's a good addition to the defense because of what he brings to the table with the experience he had at Kansas City. I have a great feeling about him. You can tell from his work ethic and how he works out."

So take a look at how an NFL veteran who has the chops of a two-time Super Bowl champ scopes out the leadership landscape in a new locker room.

"God gave every human being two ears and a mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you talk," Cook said. "I'm listening to the guys, trying to understand where they're coming from and how they move. How can I reach this person if need be. Reading and seeing that person. You never know what somebody is going through no matter what day it is. Just being somebody to lean on these guys."

Cook isn't barging in barking. Or blinding guys with his Rings. They think he's a nice balance of intangibles with Jordan Battle, his fellow starting safety whose energy is a bit more extroverted and exuberant. It's like when Cook and Hill were talking about Hill's upcoming truck purchase.

"I had some opinions, but I didn't want to overstep," Cook said.

It's OK, Hill said. In the end, Cook quietly got through.

"He wasn't about to let me buy a … and he has a ….," Hill said. "He kept his ears open, but in the back of his head, he was thinking, don't do a … He was glad I didn't do that at the end of the day. He listened, but that mouth will actually speak up at times."

Cook knows trucks and talk are all part of a process.

"It feels like forever to the first game. These are important days that you have to stack to get to that point of being very comfortable about who we are and I'm very excited about that," Cook said. "What we can bring to the table going into the regular season and hopefully the postseason."

Burrow's words seemed to catch Cook by surprise because they've only been together two weeks or so, and Cook hasn't really reached out yet. But he does know what he wants to talk about with Burrow and his guys.

"We've got two No. 1 receivers here. More learning from those guys," Cook said. "Seeing how they view certain things. How to get better at disguising some things."

He'll fit in there. Safeties coach Jordan Kovacs says Cook's 62 games and six more in the playoffs have left him with a high football IQ, particularly after doing every job in the secondary of the Chiefs' highly-regarded defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

"He's a great fit for our room for what we need right now," Kovacs says. "He's smart. He's wired the right way. I know it means something to him to bring it back to the city."

Cook has certainly read the room there. He senses the last two years have spurred this offseason's changes. He's got family all around Cincy, so they talk about Burrow and the Bengals a lot anyway. Especially since their interaction four years ago.

"I've always had respect for him, the guys, and the organization," Cook said. "Now it's just trying to get over this hump so you can say you did something that's never been done in franchise history.

"You need a quarterback first and foremost, and weapons on offense. We've found some pieces on defense and changed the mentality going into the offseason. They've put up a lot of points. I know if we can stop them, it can turn into a blowout really quickly."

From one leader to another.

"Joe B's a cool dude," said Cook, both ears and eyes wide open. "Real smooth."