Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker has steadily improved throughout the course of his first three NFL seasons, offering plenty of appeal on third down both a coverage option and a pressure player in 2020. And the Dolphins organization, appears to agree. The team gave Baker a hefty 3-year, $39M contract extension earlier this offseason; making him the second member of the team’s 2018 NFL draft class to receive an extension this offseason.
With his immediate future in Miami now secure, Baker can resume his focus on continuing to ascend as a player — although at least one respected personality in the scouting community believes Baker is already being sold short by many.
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks recently named Baker one of the NFL’s five most underrated talents in a column:
“If you are only familiar with Baker’s name due to the three-year, $39 million extension that he signed this offseason, you have missed out on watching the emergence of one of the NFL’s best young linebackers. The fourth-year pro has led the Dolphins in tackles in back-to-back seasons while also demonstrating big-play ability as a second-level pass rusher (seven sacks in 2020). If Miami is going to take the next step as a playoff contender, No. 55 will play a major role in helping the team get over the hump.” — Bucky Brooks, NFL.com
Brooks hit it right on the head. Baker’s developing value in passing downs will make him a weapon that is difficult to bring off the field at all — and his continued experience will help him key plays with confidence and consistency to get to his assignment. Baker has the tools and the opportunity to replicate, if not expand on, his 2020 season once again this year. And if he succeeds in that, Baker won’t likely be an “add-on” to conversations about good linebackers in the NFL anymore.
Unless you ask Bucky Brooks, in which case Baker has already arrived.