Pittsburgh Steelers’ 20 Prospects in 20 Days: Washington S, Budda Baker
As we continue our 2017 Draft prospect series, we dig into an area of need this year for the Steelers; safety. For the second-year-in-a-row, safety could be a key position the Steelers target in the first-three-rounds of the draft. Although the Steelers selected Sean Davis in the second round just last year, and he will be the starting strong safety for years to come; the future is less clear at the free safety position.
Current incumbent starter, Mike Mitchell’s cap hit number jumps from $4 million to $8.1 million for the next two years. With the crop of talent at the safety position in the 2017 draft, this could be a great year for the Steelers to secure their safety group for the next three to four years.
The spotlight today shines on an intriguing prospect from the PAC 12, Budda Baker from the University of Washington. On film, Baker jumps off the screen, but not because of his physical stature or size. Instead, it is his elite combination of speed, short area quickness, and relentlessness that make him such an intriguing prospect.
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Steelers’ 20 prospects in 20 days: Pitt tight end, Scott Orndoff/Jackson State DE or LB, Javancy Jones /Villanova DE, Tanoh Kpassagnon/Colorado S, Tedric Thompson/Syracuse WR, Amba Etta-Tawo/Tennessee QB, Joshua Dobbs/California QB, Davis Webb/UConn S, Obi Melifonwu/A&M WR, Josh Reynolds/A pair of Fighting Illini/WVU CB, Rasul Douglas/NC State S, Josh Jones/YSU DE or LB, Derek Rivers/Ole Miss DT, D.J. Jones
Baker has been mocked up and down the boards so far this draft season. With this year’s class of Safeties being led by potential superstars Malik Hooker and Jamal Adams there is a good possibility Baker would be available at picks 30 and 60 for when the Steelers go on-the-clock Thursday and Friday.
Overview
Baker had an immensely successful three years in Washington and has the numbers and accolades to prove it. Coming out of high school as a highly rated four-star recruit, Baker did not waste any time making an impact. Racking up 80 tackles, one interception, and six pass break-ups; Baker earned All-Pac 12 honors in 2014 in an impressive freshman campaign.
Through the next two seasons, Baker continued on his torrid pace by accumulating an additional 120 tackles, four interceptions, and 13 pass break-ups. Baker was a leader each year for a secondary that grew together in Washington; becoming one of the most dominant in college football. The Baker-lead secondary was instrumental to Washington earning a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Take a quick look at something new for this draft series — spider graphs. Spider graphs are a great visual representation on what a prospect provides from a numbers’ perspective. Baker’s graph is quite the sight to behold.
The easiest way to interpret the graph is by looking at its spread. The more the graph spreads away from the center, the more that prospect is considered an elite level athlete.
Size is also a key factor when looking at Baker. Standing at only 5-foot-10-inches tall and weighing 195 pounds, Baker will be one of the smallest safeties in the NFL this year. On the other hand, Baker does excel in the all-important speed category. When compared to other safeties, Baker possesses elite level speed (4.45 40 yard dash). I’m talking 92+ in Madden level speed, and short area quickness excelling in the 3-cone-drill (6.76 seconds).
What does the film say?
Now we are getting to the fun stuff. What Baker may lack in size he makes up for with on the field abilities that the Steelers need in the back of their secondary. Baker has three years starting experience and was used in a variety of positions at Washington. Three games, in particular, show the different ways Baker is able to excel in the secondary.
When looking at the Washington versus Arizona game tape, one can see Baker dropping back and playing deep safety in cover-1 and cover-2 looks; also lining up and pressing against the slot and outside wide receiver. In this game, Baker shows his ability to read the play that is developing in front of him and act accordingly with both speed and technique. He was able to jump several wide receiver screens in this game both with great anticipation and good angles to the ball, resulting in 10 tackles on the day.
Taking a look at a game later in the year against Arizona State, Baker dominated by lining up primarily in the slot and near the line of scrimmage. In this game, Baker excelled at rushing the passer. He consistently timed his rush perfectly with the snap count and was able to take direct aim at the quarterback. Baker took home 1.5 sacks during this game and was in the backfield numerous other times. Baker does go frequently unblocked in the way Washington schemes for his blitzes which help his ability to quickly put pressure on the ball. At the next level, this will be one area Baker will need to improve as he will not be as likely to go unblocked when blitzing and will have to develop the ability to consistently get by running backs in the backfield.
The last game film I would like to call out for Baker is from the Alabama game in the College Football Playoffs. In the biggest game of his career against a superior Alabama team, Baker shows why he is going to be a starter in the NFL for years to come. Despite being undersized against most of his matchups through the game, Baker continues to fight through blocks and be around the ball. He mostly lined up in the slot this game and his performance showed that although he is not the biggest safety prospect he does not fear contact or taking on much bigger players. He ended this game with six tackles, one sack, and a pass breakup on a very near-interception early in the game.
Bottom line
Baker is the classic case of trusting what you see with your eyes versus where you project a prospect based on athleticism and scheme fit. Baker gives you ideal position flex in the secondary which is quickly becoming a requirement for every safety. He lines up in the slot and can cover it well, he can read the play and drop back as a single high safety, and he can quickly get to the ball on blitzes.
These skill sets, in most drafts, would make Baker a lock to be one of the highest drafted safeties taken; but again, this draft class is loaded. Baker very well may be the third to sixth safety taken. However, with several teams in the market for safeties, even if Baker is the third safety taken he could be off the board in the late first to mid second rounds.
Final thoughts
The Steelers have a tough decision to make this week with its free safety position. With the safety talent in this class, the Steelers could easily land a starter to replace the higher priced Mike Mitchell. The Steelers have an opportunity to cut costs and gain a starter in the draft by selecting a Safety like Budda Baker. This could be a good time for the Steelers to stock their secondary with young, cheap talent and help to offset the high costs in the coming years with Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.
Baker will be an ideal fit for the Steelers if he slides to the Steelers’ second pick at 60. With Baker’s talent it a bit of a long shot that he will be on the board that late, but if he is he will be a good option to fill the Steelers’ need at safety. Baker could provide the talent that the Steelers are going to need to get past the ever daunting Patriots and their stable of slot wide receivers. Baker can also drop back and play near the line and provide the Steelers with a fearless athlete who is not intimidated by bigger ball carriers and who will play bigger than his size.
Steven Farrow covers the Pittsburgh Steelers for cover32 and can be reached on Twitter @SteelerSteven32. Be sure to give him guff about not having an avatar picture if you beat him to his profile; he’s new at this Twitter thing.
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