When the New York Giants traded back into the first round to snag cornerback DeAndre Baker in the 2019 NFL Draft, they thought they were getting a potentially elite lock-down guy who would come out guns blazing.
Instead, what they got was a young man struggling to make the transition from college to the pros, and one who seemed to be lacking the motivation to improve. At least at first.
In addition to his issues on the field, Baker was having issues off the field. He had been called out by teammates at times during meetings, but only when he wasn’t passed out.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports that falling asleep during meetings was “not uncommon” for Baker throughout his rookie campaign.
Baker’s rookie season was rocky, to say the least. At one point, he got called out in a team meeting, and his seven touchdowns allowed as the nearest defender was tied for fourth in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. There are questions about Baker’s desire to be great. Sleeping in meetings was not uncommon.
The good news is that Baker seemed to get it together down the stretch, improving on the field and becoming a better, more attentive teammate off of it.
Still, it’s not music to the ear to learn that Baker had been falling asleep during team meetings, especially when it’s clear that many (but certainly not all) of the on-field issues were of his own making.
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