Throughout Steve Keim’s 10 year tenure as the Cardinals’ GM, by far the best trade he ever made during a draft weekend was trading up for University of Washington 2016 consensus All-American safety Budda Baker in round 2 of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Since inking two contracts with the Arizona Cardinals that thus far have spanned six seasons, Budda Baker has been the most consistently outstanding player and consummate professional in the organization.
When Budda was a rookie, the club wanted him to shine on special teams. Not only did Budda shine like a meteor as he was chasing down return men, he was so brilliant that, as a mere rookie, he was named the NFC’s special teams player.