Arizona Cardinals: Expectations for Budda Baker in 2017
By Tyler Olson
The Arizona Cardinals continued to fill holes on defense in the 2017 NFL Draft with the selection of Washington safety Budda Baker.
The Washington Huskies had a plethora of talent entering the 2017 NFL Draft. With all the defensive talent available, the first one off the board was wide receiver John Ross, who was selected ninth overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. After all, it’s hard to pass up a player that ran a 4.22 at the NFL Combine.
In the early stages of the draft process, it was all about cornerback Sidney Jones, who happened to be a favorite of mine. Following a torn Achilles injury at his Pro Day, Jones fell down draft boards while fellow cornerback Kevin King reaped the benefits. The one player that stayed consistent throughout the whole process, however, was safety Budda Baker.
Safety talk was dominated by prospects Jamal Adams and Malik Hooker at the top of the draft. Baker, however, found himself in that next tier of safeties, projected to go somewhere near the end of the first round to early second. That’s right where general manager Steve Keim took him, trading up from 45 with the Chicago Bears to the No. 36 overall pick to take Baker early in the second.
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You might question Arizona’s decision to make the move, but looking at it close,r it was a chance Keim had to take. Although he paid a hefty price (three 2017 picks, one in 2018) two safeties went prior to Chicago’s pick at 45. The chances of Baker still being on the board would have been slim-to-none.
The need for a safety was evident after free agency saw two of their own head East for more money. Tony Jefferson signed with the Baltimore Ravens and D.J. Swearinger with the Washington Redskins. Antoine Bethea was brought in as a replacement, but at age 32 and with a potential out after just one season, he’s not the future.
The desert was a perfect landing spot for Baker. Not only does he have the chance to learn the ropes from Bethea in his rookie year, but also from Tyrann Mathieu. Not to mention, cornerback Patrick Peterson will have a say in Baker’s development when all’s said and done.
What can we expect from Baker during his rookie season? It’ll be interesting to watch his progression during training camp. The first step will be to learn defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s playbook. A coordinator that likes versatile athletes such as Baker, Bettcher has multiple options to use him throughout the base defense as well as sub packages.
Bettcher said during a radio interview with Arizona Sports 98.7:
"“So the versatility part for me is the ability to be an athletic enough safety to go play nickel so you can go cover an extra receiver, so you can cover these athletic tight ends”."
Training camp and the preseason is when we’ll get the first good look as far as where Bettcher might play Baker. Will he give him more snaps at safety? Or could Baker see more time as a rookie in nickel packages at cornerback, a position Arizona looks to be lacking heading into the 2017 season.
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Barring injury, it’s unlikely that Baker is a starter in Week 1. He could, however, work his way there as he progresses throughout the season. Head coach Bruce Arians has no problem sitting players that are under-preforming.