The Kansas City Chiefs are expected to add former New York Giants CB DeAndre Baker to the practice squad this week. He was someone that was often considered an option for the team ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft, but the Chiefs were left without a first-round draft pick following the trade to acquire Frank Clark.
Cornerback was deemed one of the Chiefs’ top needs ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft. Really it had been deemed a top need dating back to when the team traded away Marcus Peters in March of 2018. Heading into the 2019 season there was little faith among fans in the development of Charvarius Ward. There were fears about the lack of depth behind free-agent signing Bashaud Breeland and slot corner Kendall Fuller.
Enter DeAndre Baker, a 5-11 and 190-pound corner out of the Univesity of Georgia. He was widely regarded as one of the top corners in the draft class from early on in the process. My earliest thoughts on Baker came ahead of his senior season in our way-too-early 2019 draft crushes article.
“Deandre Baker is a fantastic option for the Chiefs. The guy just has a nose for finding the football in man coverage situations.
He has the versatility and speed to play press coverage or off-man. In the past two seasons, he has notched five interceptions and 14 passes defended. If he continues to improve during his senior campaign I wouldn’t be shocked if people are talking about him in the top half of the first round.”
Baker earned the Jim Thorpe award in his senior season with the Bulldogs and had a solid statistical season, but that was only part of the equation. He was heralded as a top-notch athlete coming out of UGA. We highlighted Baker among our prospects to watch at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine.
“There isn’t currently a clear-cut No. 1 corner in this class. For some it’s Greedy Williams, others Byron Murphy. It’s really up for interpretation, which leaves the opportunity for a player to rise to the occasion at the Combine.
DeAndre Baker has been a shutdown corner for Georgia for the past two seasons. He’s often been mocked to the Chiefs in the first round of the draft, but if he tests strong at the Combine, will he be available when they pick? He could shoot up draft boards if he runs faster than a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, turns in a sub 7.00 3-Cone, and a good broad jump score. The word is out that he’ll impress people with his workouts.”
As it turned out the crop of corners in this draft class disappointed from an athletic standpoint. Baker ran a 4.52 40-yard dash and jumped a 118-inch broad jump, both suboptimal athletic marks for a cornerback. Still, Baker had great tape, stats and a number of accolades during his college tenure. Former Chiefs Wire contributor, Robert “Blue Checkmark” Rimpson, considered him among his 2019 NFL Draft crushes.
“It’s a pretty obvious take if you’re a Chiefs fan, but Deandre Baker is my biggest crush in this year’s draft class. All you have to do is watch some UGA football film from 2018 to see why he’s such a big deal. Teams rarely threw to his side, and when they did, he made them pay for it. Even in Georgia’s lowest moment last year, the collapse against Alabama, he was one of the lone bright spots for the Bulldogs.”
The pre-draft process seemed to alter the narrative surrounding Baker’s athleticism, but there were also other concerns. Following the combine, there were rumors of character concerns. Sometimes those can be taken with a grain of salt, as teams try to manipulate player’s stock to get them to fall to a certain pick. We felt the news had enough substance that we neglected him from our list of realistic options for the Chiefs.
“There was hype surrounding Baker’s athleticism leading up to the combine and he disappointed. After his interviews at the combine, there are now rumors of coachability concerns.”
Ideally, Brett Veach probably would have liked it if Baker had fallen in the draft. During an episode of the team documentary series “The Franchise”, Veach cited that there were 3-4 corners the team had an interest in that went in the late first-round or early second-round. That didn’t happen, but now the team gets a second shot at landing a first-round cornerback in a very low-risk high-reward investment.
Depending on the contract that Baker signs with Kansas City, the team could own his rights for the next 2-3 seasons as an exclusive rights and restricted free agent. That’ll be important for a team that is set to have Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, and Antonio Hamilton hit some form of free agency. The next step will be coaching Baker up and developing him within the Chiefs’ scheme.
[listicle id=80624]