“The heart and soul of” the Arizona Cardinals’ defense (per Cardinals tight end Trey McBride), Budda Baker, rocketed up to No. 34 on the NFL’s Top 100 Players ranking this year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker looks for the ball during training camp July 31 in Glendale.<\/p>\n
Ross D. Franklin, Associated Press<\/p>\n
His 2025 ranking was released on Aug. 14, and it marks a 55-spot jump from No. 89 on the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2024 list. That ranking came after a 2023 season when Baker played just 12 games due to injury.<\/p>\n
While still a Pro Bowl selection in 2023, he missed out on the 100-tackle mark. He had only missed out on triple-digit tackles once in the five seasons before 2023.<\/p>\n
In 2024, though, Baker played a full 17 games. His 164 tackles were a new season-high for him. So were his 10 tackles for loss.<\/p>\n
“Budda Baker just flies around, man,” San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback and Perry High School standout Brock Purdy said to NFL Films about Baker. “You always got to know where he’s at, because he’s trying to hunt somebody.”<\/p>\n
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Baker is known for his physicality. In 2022, he suffered a significantly sprained ankle against the Seattle Seahawks, and then-Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury ruled him out early on in the following week.<\/p>\n
Instead, Baker refused to miss the game and played against the rival Los Angeles Rams despite the injury. He even came up with an interception during the win.<\/p>\n
“Playing somebody like Budda, man, you got to get your chin strap ready,” Kyren Williams, the Rams’ running back, told NFL Films. “Because you know he’s going to come at you and you’re going to come at him.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) gets brought down by Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the first half in Inglewood, Dec. 28, 2024.<\/p>\n
Alex Gallardo, Associated Press<\/p>\n
Budda later suffered a fractured shoulder on Christmas Day that year, but refused to be taken out of the game and played all 81 defensive snaps on his way to nine tackles and a pass defended.<\/p>\n
“I ain’t never seen nobody play the box like him,” Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch told NFL Films. “You know? It’s a reason why he always has like 100-plus tackles.”<\/p>\n
Baker has had 100-plus tackles in five of his eight NFL seasons. He averages 112.6 tackles per season and 126 per 17 games.<\/p>\n
“He’s not the biggest guy on the field. But the way he plays, it’s like he is the biggest guy on the field,” Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox told NFL Films.<\/p>\n
Only one player racked up more tackles than Baker in 2024, and Baker was the only non-linebacker in the top eight of the tackle leaderboard.<\/p>\n
“Budda’s like the quarterback of the defense for them,” Purdy said. “And I feel like everything evolves around Budda. He can drop down into coverage, come down, fill a gap, hit a running back in the ‘A’ gap. Budda’s just always moving.”<\/p>\n
His style of play has resulted in four All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowl appearances.<\/p>\n
“You see him getting in the backfield, you see him playing the deep part of the zone, intermediate,” Seahawks safety Julian Love told NFL Films. “He can do everything, and the defense gives him some freedom to do everything.”<\/p>\n
Baker has not missed a Pro Bowl in any of the last six seasons.<\/p>\n
The only year he missed the Pro Bowl was 2018, when he still picked up 102 tackles in his first year as a full-time starter.<\/p>\n
“I don’t get how somebody can explode through my thigh board like that and I can’t keep going,” Williams said. “Some of the people you just brush off. But those guys like Budda Baker, you can’t really brush off his tackles.”<\/p>\n
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