Budda Baker

Budda Baker

28-Year-Old SafetyS
Arizona Cardinals
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Baker has racked up triple-digit tackles four times in the last five years, and the 27-year-old went looking for a contract extension this offseason, or a trade to a team that would give him one. New Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon appears to be preparing for the safety's departure by shifting Isaiah Simmons to the secondary, and the fight for snaps between Simmons, Baker and Jalen Thompson could end up hurting the fantasy value of all three. Until a reduced role actually materializes, though, Baker's speed and nose for the football make him an elite option. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#Subscriber-Only
IDP
$Signed a four-year, $59 million contract with the Cardinals in August of 2020.
Falls short of 100 tackles in 2023
SArizona Cardinals
February 9, 2024
Baker accumulated 87 tackles across 12 regular-season games in 2023.
ANALYSIS
Since opening his career with 74 tackles as a second-round rookie in 2017, Baker reached the century mark in the category in five of the next six campaigns, but falling short of that in the most recent season isn't shocking considering he was on injured reserve Weeks 2-6. His prorated (to 17 games) tackle count was 123, which would have been the second most to his actual tally of 147 from 2019. Otherwise, Baker didn't notch any sacks for the second year in a row and snapped his run of multiple interceptions at three seasons. He has one year remaining on his current contract, so a bounceback may be in the offing as he seeks another big payday.
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NFL Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
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2022 NFL Game Log
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2021 NFL Game Log
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Snap Distribution / Depth Chart
Snap Counts
Snap %
Arizona CardinalsCardinals 2023 S Snap Distribution See more data like this | See last season's snap counts
#% of Team Snaps

89785%
73069%
44842%
37435%
252%
40%
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2023 Budda Baker Split Stats
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Measurables Review
How do Budda Baker's measurables compare to other safeties?
This section compares his draft workout metrics with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average.
Height
5' 10"
 
Weight
195 lbs
 
40-Yard Dash
4.45 sec
 
Shuttle Time
4.08 sec
 
Cone Drill
6.76 sec
 
Vertical Jump
32.5 in
 
Broad Jump
115 in
 
Bench Press
15 reps
 
Hand Length
9.00 in
 
Arm Length
30.75 in
 
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Baker was the clear DB1 from 2018 to 2020, producing at a 1,000-snap pace of 119 tackles, which made his 98 tackles on 982 snaps last year unexpected and disappointing. The question is whether 2021 was a fluke or the start of a new era. The Cardinals do have two young LBs who are more toolsy than refined (Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins), so Baker might need to clean up more tackles this year.
Baker is probably in his own class as a defensive back IDP thanks to his tackle production alone. Baker's 118 tackles on 1,007 snaps last year was actually the second-lowest tackle rate of his four NFL seasons. His 147-tackle outburst from 2019 is surprisingly close to his baseline — he might have more than one 140-tackle season in his career, and that was true even before the league took up a 17-game schedule. If Baker could produce a few more sacks or interceptions, he would be untouchable as the top DB in most IDP formats.
Linebacker Darius Leonard probably needs to be the first IDP off the board, but there might be a case for Baker to be the second IDP selection. As much as Baker's tackle production will likely decline, if only because 1,146 snaps may be an unsustainably high number, his per-snap tackle rate was so outrageously high last year that anything less than 120 stops per 16 games would be a disappointment. With that said, if Baker fails to secure the top spot among defensive back IDPs this year, then it might have something to do with his poor playmaking production. Baker has yet to intercept his first NFL pass, and he otherwise has just 3.5 sacks on 2,601 career snaps. Still, Baker makes tackles at a uniquely high rate, and the uptempo, pass-happy Arizona offense ensures that opponents will keep throwing often against the Cardinals, preserving ample tackle opportunity for Baker.
Baker might not be as big a name as some defensive backs, but that will change in 2019. His per-snap tackle rate through two years is exceptional - even his 74-tackle rookie season is remarkable considering he played only 517 defensive snaps - and he only turned 23 in January. Furthermore, his playing context could not be better this season. Whether the Kliff Kingsbury offense succeeds is immaterial to Baker - the offense will either score quickly, or turn the ball over quickly, and Baker will be incredibly busy in either case. His listed tackle projection is conservative.
Despite earning no more than eight defensive snaps in a given game until Week 10, the 2017 second-round pick concluded his rookie season with an eye-popping 74 tackles on 48.7 percent of those reps. The impetus for Baker's increased workload was two-fold. First and foremost, the Cardinals lost safety Tyvon Branch for the season in the aforementioned week, but Baker's performance on special teams to that point in the campaign likely gave the coaching staff confidence in his ability to transfer that success to the defensive side of the ball. With the starting strong safety spot secure and Tyrann Mathieu out of the picture, Baker seems to be a near-lock for 100-plus tackles in 2018.
Hardly the playmaker Tyrann Mathieu was coming out of college, Baker was nonetheless plucked in the second round of this year's draft to work as his understudy. Barring an injury to Mathieu, Antoine Bethea or Tyvon Branch, Baker won't earn many defensive snaps in 2017, leaving special teams as the platform in which he's most likely to do work.
More Fantasy News
Double-digit tackles in loss
SArizona Cardinals
December 26, 2023
Baker recorded 10 tackles (seven solo) in Sunday's 27-16 loss to the Bears.
ANALYSIS
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Held to five tackles in loss
SArizona Cardinals
December 19, 2023
Baker accounted for five tackles (three solo) during Sunday's 45-29 loss to San Francisco.
ANALYSIS
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Will play versus Niners
SArizona Cardinals
December 17, 2023
Baker (illness) is active for Sunday's game against the 49ers.
ANALYSIS
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Iffy for Sunday due to illness
SArizona Cardinals
Illness
December 17, 2023
Baker was a late addition to the Cardinals' injury report and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the 49ers due to an illness, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Has another good showing
SArizona Cardinals
December 4, 2023
Baker recorded eight tackles (six solo) in Sunday's 24-10 win at Pittsburgh.
ANALYSIS
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