The Arizona Cardinals have not had year one impact from their rookies like they have hoped for.
From Jonathan Cooper to Troy Niklas, to D.J. Humphries to Chad Williams, there’s been a steady stream of young players basically redshirting their rookie seasons.
It almost happened again with the Arizona Cardinals second round pick Budda Baker from 2017
Baker played a total of 40 defensive snaps in the Arizona Cardinals first eight regular season games. Now, unlike many of his counterparts, Baker was seeing a solid chance to contribute on special teams and did so, but he was still working little to none game-to-game as a safety.
Then Tyvon Branch was injured in the Seattle Seahawks game and the Cardinals were forced to play their young safety.
It may have been the best thing for both parties.
Baker was the second highest graded second round pick in 2017, according to Pro Football Focus:
How every second round draft pick with enough snaps to qualify graded in 2017 pic.twitter.com/tkua6lQ4A6
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 17, 2018
Baker’s lack of playing time didn’t matter, he was an immediate game changer when he got his chance and showed it every single game.
Baker is a potential star and his rise is one of the main selling points to any new head coach and defensive coordinator.