Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker didn't quite fill up the box score in 2023.
Baker's 12 games played was the shortest of his seven years with the organization after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve for four weeks.
His 87 combined tackles was the second-lowest total he's seen in his career (74 was the lowest in his rookie season where he started just seven games) while he reeled in zero interceptions on a mere 30 targets thrown his direction.
Baker still snagged Pro Bowl honors, though fans and media across the Valley acknowledge it wasn't Baker's best output we've seen in a Cardinals uniform.
Regardless, Baker still proved to be a valuable piece of Jonathan Gannon/Nick Rallis' defense and is still one of the top players at his position.
That's not a shared or unanimous opinion, however.
CBS Sports recently left Baker outside of the top ten of their safety rankings moving into the 2024 season.
Baker - at No. 11 - had this said about him from Jared Dubin:
"Baker is a strange player. He's 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds but plays like a monster-sized safety, attacking downhill against both the run and the pass, and flying off the edge on the occasional blitz. He had the second-lowest missed tackle rate of his career last season, via Pro Football Focus, and allowed the lowest completion rate on throws in his direction. And that was on a defense sorely lacking talent. If they add more players around him, he should be able to solidify all areas of his game."
Dubin brings a great point, as Arizona's defense was bottom of the barrel in most categories last season. Through the draft and free agency, they hope new additions can bolster their chances of balancing what should be a high-scoring offense.
Baker fell behind the following players in the rankings:
- Antoine Winfield
- Kyle Hamilton
- Minkah Fitzpatrick
- Jessie Bates
- Jevon Holland
- Marcus Williams
- Xavier McKinney
- Derwin James
- Kyle Dugger
- Tyrann Mathieu
Great names ahead, sure, though Baker is still undoubtedly a top ten player at his position despite the drop in numbers last season.
Baker - heading into a contract year - says he's not worried about whether or not an extension will get done.
"I treat every single year like a contract year. I love this game. I've played at a high level each and every week because of the work I put in each and every week. For me, I'm an honest believer in just controlling what I can control and do my job. At the end of the day, everything else will take care of itself," Baker said.
The Cardinals hit training camp on July 23.
