Pre-Order The Pro Football Draft Preview Today!!

NFL Draft Scouting Report: Budda Baker, S, Washington

Washington's star safety Budda Baker is profiled for the 2017 NFL Draft

Budda Baker – Washington

Position: Safety
Height: 5’10"
Weight: 195
Class: Junior
Hometown: Bellevue, WA
Experience: 3-year starter

Measurables:

40yd dash:           4.45
Broad jump:        9’6”
Vertical:                32 1/2”
Arm Length:         30 3/4”
Bench Press:      15 reps
Hand Size:           9"

Career Notes:

A two-time All-conference performer, Budda Baker was the leader of one of the best secondaries in the nation, being named a 2016 NCAA Consensus All-American as well as a First Team All-American from various media publications. A Washington native, he originally committed to Washington’s Pac-12 rival Oregon Ducks before eventually signing with the hometown Huskies. Baker played in 39 games, starting all games he appeared in and missing just one game due to injury. He lined up at several spots in the talented Husky secondary but spent most of his time at either free safety or slot corner.

Injury Report: 

Baker avoided major physical injury during his time in college, but despite playing through relatively injury-free freshman and junior seasons, he missed 1 game and parts of another with various maladies. Most seriously, Baker sustained a concussion during his sophomore season against Utah, causing him to be removed from the game and enter concussion protocol before returning to action the following week.  He would also miss the conference opener that season against Cal with an ankle injury.

 

Career Stats(click here):

 

Analysis:

Against the Run – 2.5/5

Despite Bakers’ limited frame, he makes up for much of his diminutive stature by playing with a reckless abandon when making plays in the run game. While he does not have the ability to physically take on blockers, especially struggling when blocked by tight ends or athletic offensive linemen in space. Perhaps more concerning than his lack of bulk is his small frame. Most college players that turn pro are easily able to gain weight and more importantly muscle mass to measure up at the next level. Bakers’ small frame makes these improvements unlikely. One could even argue that his willingness to tackle, while promising for his selflessness is wanting to help his team win on the field, could only serve to get himself injured at the next level when playing against bigger athletes.

Pass Rush – 1.5/5

Baker’s pass-rushing abilities are a work in progress. Since he weighs in at just 200 pounds, he was not often asked to get after the quarterback. While this can be somewhat overlooked considering he will almost exclusively play deep free safety at the next level, his athletic profile shows that he lacks explosion to be able to effectively blitz from deep zones to make impact tackles for loss.

Coverage – 3.5/5.0

While his athletic profile would seem to scream a phenomenal cover safety, he does have some notable weaknesses in the coverage department. Based purely on his diminutive body frame and elite quickness and speed, one might even consider a position change to corner similar to what the Packers did with Damarious Randall when he was drafted out of another Pac-12 school – Arizona State. However, his lack of height and especially his short arms (30 3/4 inches places him in just the 18th percentile among safeties) make that an untenable proposition. He does show solid discipline when asked to play both under zones when he lines up and slot corner and over zones when he is playing several yards past the line of scrimmage. But his below average ball skills and only average side-to-side range make it unlikely he will ever be an obvious plus at forcing turnovers.

Agility – 4.5/5

Agility is Baker’s best trait, with his 3-cone drill (84th), 20-yard shuttle (82nd) and 40-yard dash (88th) all clocking in north of the 80th percentile for safeties according to mockdraftable.com. This immediately vaults him to one of the agilest safeties in the entire draft, which when combined with his willingness to tackle makes him one of the top prospects in what is a deep class. His agility also shows up in run support as he can often be seen flying to the sideline to help in run support or perhaps most impressively when blitzing off the edge to get a hit on running backs behind the line of scrimmage leading to a tackle for loss. While he tested off the charts at the combine, he did, however struggle on receivers who run vertically through his zone. Because of this, his elite speed he showed with his pads off does not always translate to his college tape. This is especially true when he lines up at slot corner, as he can sometimes take trail technique a little too literally. College quarterbacks were often unable to take advantage of the windows Baker gave them, but that will not be the case at the next level.

Impact Play Ability – 2.5/5

If Baker’s lack of a big frame is his biggest physical drawback, his lack of big plays is the greatest weakness in his statistical profile. For a player with his accolades, as well as the surrounding talent on the Washington defense, only 5 career interceptions are a tad underwhelming. As mentioned previously, his coverage skills are good but not particularly exemplary, especially when asked to defend in man coverage. Washington played a lot of zone coverage, especially when Baker was tasked with lining up as a slot corner. He displayed good discipline when covering in zones and was especially adept at making plays in front of him. Baker often challenges receivers at the catch point, making potential receivers either earn most of their catches or bat the ball harmlessly to the ground. While he is physical in the run game, he rarely tries to force a fumble even when he has several teammates around to help complete the tackle.

Overall – 3.5/5

Baker is a football player – plain and simple. While he may be a few inches and a couple pounds short of ideal size for the safety position at the next level, but his tenacity and willingness to tackle more than makeup for any concerns his body may give. As with a lot of undersized but physical defensive players, it does bring into question whether Baker can maintain his relatively clean bill of health with his move to the NFL where the players are both quicker and faster. Injury concerns can go either way and Baker’s concussion history is a minus in that regard. But with the NFL continuing to transition from a passing friendly league to a pass-first league, any concerns about his ability to hold up in the run game may be overstated. Baker is a good tackler for any safety, let alone a small one and has the speed to play snaps from day 1.

If Drafted by the Packers:

On a defense full of holes, Baker does not fit an obvious need with Pro Bowler Ha-Ha Clinton Dix still on his rookie contract and Morgan Burnett completing the solid tandem. But with Burnett struggling through injuries over the past two seasons and the general lack of depth of contributors in the secondary, depending on whether Baker slipped in the draft, he could make sense for the Packers. His experience in multiple positions in the secondary while in college, particularly at slot corner and deep safety, could allow defensive coordinator Dom Capers to move him around the formation. He could particularly be a solid addition in big nickel packages or as a replacement for Micah Hyde’s positional versatility since the former Hawkeye took his talents to Buffalo. His shortcomings in much of his physical profile make him unlikely to be selected by the Packers’ brass unless he slips more than expect on draft day. But the dearth of quality safety play across the league makes that scenario an unlikely one. Baker will likely be a solid performer in the pros and could even start for several seasons for good defenses. It just seems unlikely that will occur in Titletown.

Video:

 

 

0 points
 

Comments (2)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Colin_C's picture

March 27, 2017 at 12:43 pm

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if TT takes him in the 1st. He'd replace Hyde as a jack of all trades players. Much more athletic than Hyde though. Pure and simple, he's a football player. I like the kid.

0 points
0
0
dobber's picture

March 27, 2017 at 12:54 pm

With three draftable players in that Washington secondary this year, the question in my mind is whether they look better because it was a group of good players, or whether they're all--individually--just that good.

0 points
0
0