The Arizona Cardinals and their fans know how great safety Budda Baker is. By the Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, it seems the rest of the league knows, too, even if some more analytical sites fail to recognize his impact on games.
His NFL peers recognize it and he comes in at No. 67 of the NFL Top 100 players that players vote on each year.
Former teammate Chandler Jones, now with the Las Vegas Raiders, opened the video reveal by calling him “a heat-seeking missile.”
He gets praise from a number of teammates and opponents.
From San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle:
“He’s a blur out there. He just does everything 100 miles per hour.”
“It’s the no hesitation. Because you’ll see him 15 yards deep and he’ll make the tackle at five yards.”
“Just the work he puts out there you see on tape. He never takes plays off. He’s just always around the football. He’s good with his hands. He’s good with his punches.”
“He’s a really smart football player. He’s always in the right place in the right time. Budda is one of my favorite players in the league.”
From San Francisco 49ers safety Jimmie Ward:
“Shoots and asks questions later.”
From Chandler Jones:
“When he hits, he lays into you. I think he walks around at 180 (pounds) soaking wet, but he’s a hell of a player.”
From Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, who as a member of the Seattle Seahawks saw him twice yearly, said this:
“He’s one of the most explosive players in the league. He’s smaller, undersized. Budda’s smaller than me. He’s a force. He comes out of that center field and comes down full speed. He’s trying to take your helmet off and he’s trying to blow you up.”
From Cardinals linebacker Devon Kennard:
“I’ve never seen a player play with such reckless abandon.”
Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp said his team has a rule for Baker.
“We’ve got the ‘Budda rule.’ Someone block Budda. Wherever he is, someone make sure you block Budda because he’s going to be flying from wherever he is on the field, he’s going to be around the ball.”
“I tell him every time I love playing him because he makes you bring it over and over.”
From Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones:
“He’s like a missile and then the pop-up game is everything at the end. The way he comes down and fills the run, he’s coming and he’s coming low, and he’s coming to wipe you out. He has no fear when he’s coming down and he’s shooting right for that thigh board. You better be ready because if you aren’t, it’s going to hurt.”
From Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf:
“He really attacks everything 100% full speed. He’s just a fantastic tackler. I’ve seen him take people down from up top. I’ve seen him take the legs out. A honed-in reckless. He knows how to control it on Sundays and this year he’s turning it into picks.”
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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