There’s never been much doubt the Arizona Cardinals have an outstanding talent at safety. In fact, the position is deeper than ever for Arizona, with a young rising star in Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and a potential bounce-back candidate in Jalen Thompson.
But one of the constants throughout the years (whether the Cardinals’ defense was performing well or not) is their veteran star Budda Baker.
Towards the end of the 2024 season, Baker signed a three-year extension to stay in the desert, locking up one of the most crucial pieces of an otherwise-youthful group of secondary players.
Baker has been one of the more valuable safeties in the NFL throughout his eight-year career, and has yet to show signs of aging.
Pro Football Focus ranked their top 32 safeties in the NFL ahead of the 2025 season, and Baker was unsurprisingly mentioned among the league’s best at that position.
After an excellent (and resurgent) 2024 season, Baker placed eighth among active NFL safeties.
“Baker put together arguably the best year of his career in his eighth NFL season. The Washington product logged more than 1,000 snaps for the first time since 2021, and he earned a career-high 77.8 PFF overall grade that ranked 12th among all safeties,” wrote Zoltan Buday.
“Baker was especially productive against the run, as he earned a positive PFF grade on 11.2% of run plays, his highest rate since his rookie season.”
Baker flew all over the field in 2024, playing all 17 games for the first time since 2021. He amassed an incredible, career-high 164 total tackles, ranking second among all NFL defenders, behind only Colts LB Zaire Franklin.
Baker’s versatility and open-field prowess make him one of the more dangerous weapons on the Cardinals’ roster. While he may not be the most ball-hawking safety in the NFL with just seven career interceptions, he’s been an invaluable piece of a defense that has had its fair share of ups and downs since Baker was drafted in 2017.
Baker has been nominated to the Pro Bowl seven times, including each of the past six seasons. He’s been both an on-field missile and a locker room leader, firing up a defense that has begun to play its hardest in years under head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
Without a doubt, Baker remains the anchor of a rising unit. Ranking him eighth among active safeties may even be a bit of an undersell.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
