ARI Arizona Cardinals · DB· #3

Budda Baker

Age
30
Height
5'10"
Weight
195 lbs
College
Washington
Drafted
2017, No. 36 overall (AZ)
Experience
10th NFL season

47

Overall grade

31st of 50 safeties

Below typical

about average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Budda grades about average among safeties so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing better. Passer rating allowed is 42 over the last 2 games (7 targets), against 142 before that. The change points one way, but a few plays could still explain it.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the safeties in the league.

  • Completion rate allowed50%12th of 50small sample
  • Passes defended per target13%18th of 50small sample
  • Missed tackles7%49th of 84small sample
  • Passer rating allowed9838th of 50
  • Yards allowed per target12.545th of 50small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying safeties. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among safeties after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 9th percentileWeek 3: 13th percentileWeek 4: 15th percentile15th

Season rank holding near the 15th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

Yards allowed per target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs LAC11.01–
2vs SEA15.889th pct
3vs SF4.5213th pct
4vs NYG10.8515th pct

Lower is better for this stat. One game is a small sample: a single stat over 4 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every safety with at least 10 targets. Right on the strip is better.

Yards allowed per target

Well below typical

12.5lower is better

45th of 50 safeties · bottom 12%

The yards the receiver he is covering gets each time he is targeted. Fewer is better.

The box score: Interceptions are rare and say little about the hundred plays where he is just covering.

Does it show up in winning? Across 35 games league-wide, a good or bad game on yards allowed per target from a safety has not lined up much with his team winning (64% wins in the best third, 64% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 9.0 (7) vs 15.2 before+15.6grade points upLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 targets · true level likely 8.6 to 16.4

Passer rating allowed

Well below typical

98lower is better

38th of 50 safeties · bottom 26%

The passer rating of quarterbacks throwing at him. 158.3 is perfect for the passer, so lower is better for the defender.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 35 games league-wide, teams won 73% of the time when their safety was in the best third on passer rating allowed, and 36% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 42 (7) vs 142 before+32.3grade points upA clear change

Sample still growing · 16 targets · true level likely 76 to 121

Completion rate allowed

Well above typical

50%lower is better

12th of 50 safeties · top 24%

The share of passes thrown at him that are completed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Not in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 35 games league-wide, teams won 82% of the time when their safety was in the best third on completion rate allowed, and 27% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 29% (7) vs 67% before+21.7grade points upA clear change

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 targets · true level likely 29% to 71%

Passes defended per target

Above typical

13%

18th of 50 safeties · top 36%

How often a pass thrown at him ends with him breaking it up. A cornerback does this far more often than he intercepts.

The box score: Passes defended are counted, but never against how often he was tested.

Does it show up in winning? Across 35 games league-wide, teams won 82% of the time when their safety was in the best third on passes defended per target, and 46% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 14% (7) vs 11% before+1.5grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 targets · true level likely -3% to 28%

Missed tackles

Typical

7%lower is better

49th of 84 safeties · bottom 43%

The share of his tackle chances he missed. Fewer is better.

The box score: Tackle totals reward the player who gets the most chances, not the one who finishes them.

Does it show up in winning? Across 144 games league-wide, a good or bad game on missed tackles from a safety has not lined up much with his team winning (50% wins in the best third, 44% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 10% (10) vs 6% before−3.5grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 27 tackle chances · true level likely -2% to 17%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the safeties around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Depth of passes at him

Style

11.6 yds

Is tested deep, more than most safeties. A typical one is 9.7 yds.

How far downfield the passes thrown at him travel on average. It shows whether he is tested deep or underneath, which is a role, not a grade.

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 targets

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 100% of the team's defensive plays when he plays.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's defensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Budda Baker game by game
GameResultSnapsTklSoloAstTFLSacksPressPBUIntMissedYds/targetRating againstComp % againstPBU/target
Wk 1 vs LACW 26–14100%54100.5100111.0113100%0%
Wk 2 vs SEAL 7–31100%107311110015.814663%13%
Wk 3 vs SFL 30–36100%4130000014.5460%0%
Wk 4 vs NYGL 24–36100%52300011010.84140%20%
Wk 5 vs DETL 21–45–1064100000––––

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among safeties. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Budda Baker box score totals
StatTotalRank
Tackles347th of 50
Solo tackles204th of 50
Assisted tackles1410th of 50
Tackles for loss27th of 50
Sacks1.51st of 50
Pressures23rd of 50
Passes defended217th of 50
Interceptions13rd of 50
Missed tackles217th of 50

Players with a similar profile

The safeties whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.