Budda Baker, S, Washington: 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Budda Baker is one of several high quality safeties in the 2017 NFL draft. So what does his scouting report say about his prospects?

Position:  S

School:  Washington

Year:  Junior

Height:  5’10”

Weight:  186 lbs

STRENGTHS:

• Aggressive mentality around the line of scrimmage. Quick read-and-react time that allows him to jump screen passes or toss plays for a loss or no gain.
• Times his blitzes well and does a great job of using his hands to violently shed blockers when attacking the quarterback.

This guy does his best work around the line of scrimmage. Perhaps his biggest gift is being able to attack the quarterback. Most of the time he gets a free run into the backfield due to disguises. However, here he shows his violent hand work to discard the running back in order to finish the play. That extra effort resulted in a big interception for his team.

• Athletic. Works well in space with the instinct and feel for when to time his tackle attempts. Uses proper form when bringing down a ball carrier to limit missed tackles.
• Doesn’t give up on plays whenever they’re away from his area of the field. Moves to the action fast when the opening is there.
• Has some corner skills to him. Shows an ability to reach the quarterbacks’ eyes and cut in front of passes for interceptions going the other way.
• Intelligence shows consistently on presnap. Gets signals out to teammates and is rarely out of position on any given play. This shows in his knack for splitting blockers to blow up screens.

WEAKNESSES:

• Undersized for a defensive back. While not a crippling issue, such a drawback can often lead to injury problems and mismatches against bigger receivers.

This is a great example of where teams can take advantage of Baker. One thing he can’t learn or improve is how to get taller. Get him matched up against a tight end or bigger wide receiver, then quarterbacks will know to just throw it high. Baker is a good athlete but he doesn’t quite have the hops to jump through the roof to cover up the lack of inches.

• Clues to the quarterback. Can make him susceptible to the double move by a receiver, exposing his lack of true speed. Must learn to stay disciplined.
• Teams will have success running at him if blockers get to him on the edge or the second level. Just doesn’t have the length to shed offensive linemen.

Pro Comparison:  D.J. Swearinger

It took three different teams before Swearinger finally found where he belongs. He’s at his best when he can attack and be aggressive as he was in Arizona. Though undersized his ability to blitz along with the sneaky coverage skills made him a versatile safety who could do a little bit of everything really well. That is what Baker is. A rock solid player.

Projection:  2nd Round

The only way a player like Baker with his significant lack of size gets drafted in the top 32 is if he is elite in some category. Maybe speed or instincts. He’s got some of both but not enough to crack the 1st round. So some team is going to get a potential Day 1 starter early in the 2nd. That’s not such a bad thing at all.