E
ver since the Arizona Cardinals selected Budda Baker in the 2nd round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the former Washington Huskies standout has proven to be one of the league’s best and most consistent safeties. And even eight years into his far more decorated than you realize career, Baker’s standing around the NFL hasn’t taken a hit just yet.
In a recent ESPN poll of executives, coaches and scouts around the league in which players of all positions were ranked against their peers, Budda Baker was named the 8th-best safety in the NFL. At 29-years-old, Baker was the oldest player in the top ten, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explained why one of the elder statesmen of the Arizona Cardinals defense is still held in such high regard.
“Voters just can’t quit Baker, the oldest player in the top 10. He is going on six consecutive Pro Bowls and is still a menace at the line of scrimmage,” Fowler wrote. “From a tone-setting standpoint, he remains elite.”
One NFC executive noted that although Baker appeared more vulnerable in coverage and as an open field tackler in 2024, his impact was still felt in other ways.
“Unreal production when moving forward,” an NFC executive remarked. “Missed more tackles this past year but made a ton of plays behind/at/near the line of scrimmage. And he played all 17 games.”
Budda Baker Earns Fourth All-Pro Nod in 2024
Although Budda Baker allowed a career-worst 608 yards, 7 touchdowns and 129.8 passer rating last season, a handful of other numbers tell a story of a player who is not necessarily on the decline, but instead, evolving as he gets deeper into his career.
Baker’s 164 combined tackles was a career-high and the second-most among all defensive players in 2024. He also set or tied career highs in sacks (2), QB hits (3) and tackles for loss (13). For good reason, the Cards handed Baker a three-year extension in December.
Put simply, as Budda Baker ages, he’s being deployed more as a safety-linebacker hybrid than ever before, and truth be told, it’s a role he’s been made for since finishing in the top ten in tackles in the Pac-12 as a freshman at Washington.
Cardinals Use 2025 NFL Draft to Bolster Secondary
After finishing in the middle of the pack in passing yards allowed in 2024 and in the bottom ten in interceptions, the Cardinals double-dipped on defensive backs in the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting a pair of former Big Ten rivals to provide a jolt of youth and upside to a unit that needs a little bit of both.
Will Johnson (Michigan) and Denzel Burke (Ohio State) were selected by the Cardinals in the 2nd and 5th rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft respectively, and Johnson in particular is expected to start immediately this season.
“A highly pedigreed cover man with prototypical size and a mature game, the Michigan product projects as a Day 1 starter in Arizona,” NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice wrote June 18. “And his instinctive ball-hawking feels like a perfect fit in the Cardinals’ zone-heavy defense.”
Johnson was once considered to be the top cornerback prospect in the nation, but an injury-riddled 2024 season resulted in the Michigan Wolverines star to slip from outside of the top half of the 1st round to day two of the 2025 NFL Draft. Injury concerns still linger, but Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said back in June that he expected Johnson to be ready to go at the start of training camp.
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