NFL Draft 2019: Chiefs need a ballhawk like Deandre Baker

The Kansas City Chiefs could find value later than expected with NFL Draft prospect Deandre Baker, a cornerback out of Georgia.

The 2019 NFL Draft is just weeks away. Over the next month, players’ stock will rise and fall according to media outlets and teams boards. Finding the smokescreen and what is real is impossible until draft night. For now, all we can do is speculate.

One player that has seen the ups and downs of the process is Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker. Once discussed among the top three cornerbacks in the draft, his poor combine performance has him dropping on many draft boards. There have even been rumors of teams going back and taking a look at his film and finding discrepancies that have him falling out of the first round.

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Despite the Chiefs signing cornerback Bashaud Breeland on Monday, the defense is still in need of a lockdown outside corner. Kendall Fuller will play outside and then slide inside when the defense moves to nickel and dime packages as he did in 2018. Breeland is a solid addition to the defense, but he’s not the top lockdown cornerback on the outside that Kansas City needs.

It wouldn’t hurt the Chiefs to grab another corner early in the draft. Given their free agent moves so far, they are keeping things open so they can truly draft the best player available while also addressing significant needs. Given Baker’s drop, he could be a solid grab for a team in the early to mid second round range, which could mean the Chiefs if they decide to move up early on Friday.

STRENGTHS

When watching Baker’s film, you don’t have to watch long to notice that press man coverage is his bread and butter. Baker is extremely physical at the line and plays with an attitude. Forcing receivers off of their routes and disrupting their timing is one of the best attributes to his game.

When working the boundary, Baker often uses his body to force receivers out of bounds or keeps them from changing direction. In press man coverage, he usually reacted off of the receiver instead of watching the quarterback. Unlike former Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson, not getting his head turned around didn’t completely wash him out of the play.

Staying sticky in coverage on his man down the sideline, Baker allows very little room for the receiver to make a break and a smaller window for the quarterback allowing him to have leverage and make a play on the ball if it’s thrown his way. In this play, Baker watches the receiver all the way down the sideline and when he puts his hands up to make a catch, Baker rips his arms upward to break the ball loose.

Baker has great awareness along the boundary as well. His ability to keep the field as small as possible for the receiver is solid. He also made numerous plays when he couldn’t get to the catch point to make a play on the football, he forced the receiver out of bounds not allowing him to get his feet in bounds.

While playing physical at the line of scrimmage is the best fit for Baker, he is also exceptional in off-man coverage and zone concepts. His ability to watch the quarterback and jump routes is something the Chiefs missed last season without cornerback Peters. He’s got great awareness of his surroundings in zone coverage and has a knack for making a play before the wide receiver.

While Kansas City tied for 9th in interceptions last season with 15 total, it was extremely inconsistent. They also didn’t have a consistent playmaker in the secondary. Steven Nelson led the team with four interceptions, Kendall Fuller coming in second with just two. If there’s one thing that the Chiefs need under this new defensive scheme, it’s another playmaker.

Baker proved that he’s exactly that while playing in the best conference in college football. The SEC is a stacked conference that gave Baker enough opportunities to play against the closest thing to NFL wide receivers. His ability to make plays at the catch point is exceptional. Ball-hawking skills are a big need whether it comes up as an interception or pass deflection, and Baker can get the job done.

The last thing I want to emphasize about Baker is his aggression. Without former safety Eric Berry on the field for most of the last two seasons, the Chiefs have been without a hard-hitting, aggressive style player. Some of the players on last year’s roster have been known at times for being that guy, but they didn’t show up last season partially due to the scheme. Baker is a guy that will come in with hits that will make receivers think twice about when going up for a catch.

WEAKNESSES

Baker has a couple of weaknesses that have caused his projections to fall, especially after the NFL Combine. While he’s going to make plays on the football, he’s not the best overall athlete. One of the biggest concerns about Baker in the NFL is his long speed. Given his aggressiveness at the line of scrimmage, he could struggle if he fails to disrupt the route by missing his first jab on the receiver.

His ability to get turned around and chase is something that many teams will find concerning. I would like to see him in a defense where he has some help over the top in a cover two system. Otherwise, while he might make some big plays, he will also get burned for a number of big plays as well.

I also have concerns about Baker’s effort in the running game. He seems too inconsistent at attacking the run and will often let the rest of the team make the tackle. Something that many fans criticized Marcus Peters in 2017. His size seemed like a concern following the 2018 season checking in at 183 pounds at Georgia, but weighing in at 193 pounds helped his draft stock. I still have concerns about him getting manhandled by bigger receivers, but his aggression could make up for it.

Last but not least, Baker really turned teams away with some of his off-the-field concerns. Many feel like Baker wasn’t prepared for some of the questions he was asked by teams at the combine. Teams are looking for anything that can break you in these interviews and it seems that this could be one of those things.

FIT WITH CHIEFS?

There’s no question that the Chiefs could use a ball-hawking cornerback to add to their secondary. Losing Peters hurt the secondary’s ability to force turnovers. Even with the addition of Bashaud Breeland to replace Nelson, Kansas City should still be looking for a lockdown outside cornerback to add to the mix.

Baker’s stock has moved up and down the board since the end of the 2018 season. His combine performance has him falling in many mock drafts, and some NFL analysts even have him sliding into the second round. Personally, I see Baker being grabbed in either the later part of the first round or early in the second round.

If the Chiefs feel like they could get Baker by trading up into the earlier part of the second round, that would be a steal. I don’t think they would have to trade up to grab him unless there is a streak of cornerbacks coming off the board. Other cornerbacks are preferable over Baker, but adding him to the Chiefs new defense would make fans much more comfortable about going into the season knowing the Chiefs don’t have to start Charvarius Ward because of lack of talent.

There are plenty of traits that Baker possesses, but his ball-hawking mentality and aggressiveness are two traits that the Chiefs defense needs. I like the pick if the Chiefs decide to go that route, and there’s reason to think he could be a Week 1 starter.