NFL Draft Prospects 2019: Cornerback - Deandre Baker, Georgia

Deandre Baker was a three-star recruit from Miami Northwestern, who barely saw the field his first year in Athens. As a sophomore he started 7 of 12 games, intercepting two passes and breaking up another five. By his junior year, Baker was a full-time starter, who picked off three passes and deflected another nine, leading to second-team All-SEC honors. However, it was last year that he put himself into the conversation for the top corner in college football, being named first-team All-American and the winning the Jim Thorpe award, after making another 12 plays on the ball.

The former Bulldog doesn’t quite reach six feet, but he is very long. He won’t give away the coverage his defense is in and does stuff like giving a press look and then sinking deep moments before the snap. Baker trusts his eyes in zone and is aggressive in man. He might not have premiere speed, but gets away with it usually thanks to a quick flip of the hips to go vertical.

This is a junkyard dog when the ball is in the air, fighting through the hands of the receiver, and unlike a lot of other guys, he really gets his paws directly on the ball instead of just ripping through whatever he can grab. Baker has good feel for route development and does a nice job high-pointing the ball in the air. He excels at using the sideline as his friend and pushes receivers into the boundary.

Baker loves to play press and keeps sticky coverage, even when his man crosses the entire field. He also has some limited experience lining up in the slot as well. Baker is an excellent tackler and will not miss too many in one-on-one situations, shutting things down quickly, allowing just 31 yards after the catch.

Baker took the challenge of taking on Alabama’s Calvin Ridley in the 2018 National Championship game and despite Ridley getting free a couple of times early, which I thought he should have been thrown to, Baker stayed stride for stride with him for the most part when he was matched up against him. This young man has supreme confidence and looks at himself as by far the best corner in this draft.

Watch his tape versus Missouri or Mississippi State – he was all over their receivers for 60 minutes and I don’t think you can put a single reception by them onto his account. He surrendered a passer-rating of just 32.7 in 2017 and was part of a very small group of cornerbacks that allowed less than half the passes thrown his way to be completed as a senior, as he led all SEC corners with a passer rating of 40.2 when targeted. The craziest stat however is that he hasn’t allowed a single touchdown since Georgia’s bowl game versus TCU in 2016.

However, Baker needs to do a much better job disengaging as receivers get into his chest and stay there gives up contain at times trying to cheat inside the block. At 180 pounds Baker can bodied by bigger receivers and he simply lacks the raw speed you want to see from top-tier defensive backs. Because of that you see him surrender underneath completions as he has to protect against the deep ball. Overall he was rarely left on an island all by himself, being part of a zone-heavy Bulldog scheme that gave him help over the top. He can also get a little grabby at the top of routes.

If you are looking for a corner with alpha dog mentality and tremendous success in college football’s best conference, this is your guy. If you are looking for a physical specimen look elsewhere. I think Baker could fit multiple schemes and would be a great addition to any defense. You might want to put him on number two’s and have him take those guys away, but that’s still really valuable as well.

Grade: Late First