Budda Baker

[Texas_Pete]

FS... Jones goes back to corner.

Presto! Two spots improved.

In this scenario, who you got at SS - Heath?

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Baker in the 1st, Jordan Willis or Derek Rivers in the 2nd (possibly with a slight trade up, hopefully we can get something for Romo in this case).

Defense looks like this:

DE - Lawrence, Irving, Mayowa, Tapper, Willis or Rivers, maybe Moore
DT - Collins, Crawford, Thornton, Paea
LB - Lee, Smith, Wilson, Hitchens, Wilber, Nzechoa
CB - Jones, Scandrick, Brown, Carroll, mid-round rookie, maybe McFadden
S - Baker, Heath, Frazier, cheap veteran

 

[AsthmaField]

In this scenario, who you got at SS - Heath?

Unless we upgrade there too. I think he will be fine but I could be wrong of course.

I'd love Josh jones in the second but safety one and two might would be a bit much.

Personally, I would take Baker and jones and move Byron to CB and not look back.

But don't tell guru I said that.

 

[ChooChoo73]

Good safety. great football player. Played in 39 games in three years so I'm not going to try to predict whether or not he stays healthy. I don't think size is primary in determining health at safety though it's a factor I suppose. This team needs players that can be special and I think he can. I hope they choose him if it's safety they decide to go. For me I want premium resources going to positions closest to the ball so until we like the o line and defensive front seven I'd prefer a d line or LB pick. Instincts, physical, ball-aware, follow-through tackler, and short area quick- I'm good with Baker.

 

[tyke1doe]

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's the pick. He adds a bit of flexibility and versatility to our defense just like Byron Jones. And never underestimate playmaking ability. That's simply a gift. Either you have it or you don't. If he has it, we need to take him.
I'm not to worried about his weight. The Cowboys can put the weight on him, and he's playing farther away from the line where weight isn't as much of an issue.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Not in the first. I would rather have Josh Jones in the second than Baker in the first.

 

[TheFinisher]

Good safety. great football player. Played in 39 games in three years so I'm not going to try to predict whether or not he stays healthy. I don't think size is primary in determining health at safety though it's a factor I suppose. This team needs players that can be special and I think he can. I hope they choose him if it's safety they decide to go. For me I want premium resources going to positions closest to the ball so until we like the o line and defensive front seven I'd prefer a d line or LB pick. Instincts, physical, ball-aware, follow-through tackler, and short area quick- I'm good with Baker.

The thing about Baker that I keep coming back to is that he plays with a 6th sense, the instincts and speed he plays with is hard to ignore. That type of confidence is rare, and the great ones all have it... and when you hear about the person and leader he is it really starts to make sense.

This kid has it

 

[BAT]

Not in the first. I would rather have Josh Jones in the second than Baker in the first.

Rather trade for a high 2nd and take Baker. Then take Nate Gerry in the 6th. That add two playmakers, shores up the Safety position as well as making entire secondary more flexible.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Rather trade for a high 2nd and take Baker. Then take Nate Gerry in the 6th. That add two playmakers, shores up the Safety position as well as making entire secondary more flexible.

We already have a starting FS who is starting to come into his own. Baker seem redundant to me and no way you want him playing SS.

If you are going to take him I think you should trade down from 28 but there are several players that could be there that I would rather have then Baker and a 3rd or 4th round pick.

 

[BAT]

We already have a starting FS who is starting to come into his own. Baker seem redundant to me and no way you want him playing SS.

If you are going to take him I think you should trade down from 28 but there are several players that could be there that I would rather have then Baker and a 3rd or 4th round pick.

Cowboys secondary is wide open for competition. And Marinelli likes his DBs to be as flexible as possible. Budda, like Byron, can play center field, over the slot or at corner. And while Baker is much shorter, he is also much more physical in running game. Playing Baker at SS is not a problem. Especially for a defense that requires both safeties to have ability to play high or down in the box depending on the opposition's formation.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Cowboys secondary is wide open for competition. And Marinelli likes his DBs to be as flexible as possible. Budda, like Byron, can play center field, over the slot or at corner. And while Baker is much shorter, he is also much more physical in running game. Playing Baker at SS is not a problem. Especially for a defense that requires both safeties to have ability to play high or down in the box depending on the opposition's formation.

We did not play our defense that way last year. Church was protected all season long. He went to the big nickel on passing downs for a reason.

 

[tm1119]

Cowboys secondary is wide open for competition. And Marinelli likes his DBs to be as flexible as possible. Budda, like Byron, can play center field, over the slot or at corner. And while Baker is much shorter, he is also much more physical in running game. Playing Baker at SS is not a problem. Especially for a defense that requires both safeties to have ability to play high or down in the box depending on the opposition's formation.

You're out of your mind if you think Rod Marinelli is running his base D with a 190 lb SS. Absolutely no chance. He'd either be a nickle back or a single high FS in our scheme and we have both covered already. I like the player but I don't see how he fits at all.

 

[HookEmCowboys]

I'm sold.

 

[HookEmCowboys]

I like Budda a lot and think he'd be a great pickup. Immediate contributor and versatile which are two things that are needed in the secondary.

The injury concerns have merit, but anyone can go down on any play. His talent makes it worth it imo.

 

[ChooChoo73]

The thing about Baker that I keep coming back to is that he plays with a 6th sense, the instincts and speed he plays with is hard to ignore. That type of confidence is rare, and the great ones all have it... and when you hear about the person and leader he is it really starts to make sense.

This kid has it

Agree completely. I can't remember the last secondary player we had that was instinctual. That is so much more important than size for the most part. Byron Jones has athleticism. Carr reliability. Wilcox physicality. Claiborne ball skills. Church a tiny bit of everything and lots of nothing. Sign me up for Baker if we don't target front defensive seven.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I like the player, his ability to cover in man is outstanding for a S, but there is no way he is a 1st round S. It is one thing to say a player is small but it is another thing to watch players take advantage of it over and over again.

He gets destroyed by blocks unless he gets a running start and submarines the blocker.
People run through his tackles. He misses too many tackles for my liking.
People high point balls over him easily. Stanford did this throughout the game.
I get what people are saying about his instints but his size is a problem as it affects his game and that is before you worry about his durability.

 

[skinsscalper]

I think people are a little too dismissive of his size. Not because it will keep him from making plays or anything like that, but because it's a fact that someone his size is going to struggle to stay healthy over a 16 game NFL season. He struggles to hold 190 pounds on his frame and he's an agressive safety. I'll be surprised if he doesn't have injury problems throughout his career

Yep. Bob Sanders 2.0

 

[Denim Chicken]

He gets destroyed by blocks unless he gets a running start and submarines the blocker.
People run through his tackles. He misses too many tackles for my liking.
People high point balls over him easily. Stanford did this throughout the game.
I get what people are saying about his instints but his size is a problem as it affects his game and that is before you worry about his durability.

This would be a problem in our division where the size of opponents WR corps has increased:

Brandon Marshall 6'4
Terrelle Pryor 6'4
Brian Quick 6'3
Alshon Jeffery 6'3
Josh Doctson 6'2
Nelson Agholor 6'0
Torrey Smith 6'0

 

[Sydla]

Cowboys secondary is wide open for competition. And Marinelli likes his DBs to be as flexible as possible. Budda, like Byron, can play center field, over the slot or at corner. And while Baker is much shorter, he is also much more physical in running game. Playing Baker at SS is not a problem. Especially for a defense that requires both safeties to have ability to play high or down in the box depending on the opposition's formation.

Is that true? I am not so sure about that. Yes, they moved Jones around a bit but Church was pretty much a standard SS here.

 

[DallasBlockersClub]

I think everyone loves the player and person, the one negative is lack of size, but that's about it. This is a kid who has been a captain all 3 years at Washington, which is unheard of to be a freshman captain. That's special leadership ability.

Let's discuss how he could be utilized in our defense. There are rumblings from NFL circles that his best position may be CB at the next level due to his elite quickness and ability to drive on the football. I think he could be a hell of a slot corner for us, but where does he fit in within the base defense? Do you like him more as a deep center fielder, 8th man run defender, etc? Could he play Safety for us in base packages or will he have to transition to full time CB duty... and do you think he could succeed there?

Again, he had special instincts for a DB and seemingly plays at a different speed then everyone else on the field at the college level.

Could he fit the mold of a Ronde Barber for us?

I gave up on the cowboys drafting a true free safety early a long time ago. It's the one position in the secondary that can make a significant, immediate impact.