Budda Baker

Budda Baker

27-Year-Old SafetyS
Arizona Cardinals
Questionable
Injury Shoulder
Est. Return 6/15/2023
2023 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Budda Baker in 2023. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
#Subscriber-Only
IDP
$Signed a four-year, $59 million contract with the Cardinals in August of 2020.
Goes on IR
SArizona Cardinals
Shoulder
December 28, 2022
Baker (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
Baker suffered a fractured shoulder in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers, and he had already been ruled out for the remainder of the season. So, his move to IR was just a formality at this point. Chris Banjo will now likely step up and play an increased role to close out the season, while Baker will prepare to be ready to play in 2023.
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2018
2017
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 2022 S Snap Distribution See more data like this | See last season's snap counts
#% of Team Snaps

106099%
93387%
757%
141%
61%
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2022 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
 
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Budda Baker See More
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199 days ago
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Gameday Injuries: Week 10
203 days ago
Juan Carlos Blanco checks in with the latest on the Week 10 status of Josh Allen and several other big names as of early Sunday morning.
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
Done for year with broken shoulder
SArizona Cardinals
Shoulder
December 26, 2022
Despite having played every defensive snap in Sunday's 19-16 loss to the Buccaneers, Baker suffered a fractured shoulder and has been ruled out for the final two games of the regular season, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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Another outing with 10-plus tackles
SArizona Cardinals
November 22, 2022
Baker racked up 10 tackles and a pass defense during Monday's 38-10 defeat to the 49ers.
ANALYSIS
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Cleared for Monday
SArizona Cardinals
November 19, 2022
Baker doesn't have an injury designation for Monday's matchup against the 49ers, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.
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Returns to limited practice
SArizona Cardinals
Ankle
November 18, 2022
Baker (ankle) logged a limited practice session Friday, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
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DNP on Thursday
SArizona Cardinals
Ankle
November 17, 2022
Baker (ankle) was a non-participant at Thursday's practice, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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