Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel praises Cardinals’ ‘nontraditional approach’ with Budda Baker

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker is a well-known NFL commodity, highlighted by his violent nature and nose for the football.

In opposing offense’s gameplan for the Cardinals, he was public enemy No. 1 more times than not well before the current regime got to town.

Now running wild in a creative defense ran by coordinator Nick Rallis and head coach Jonathan Gannon, that’s even more of the case.

And it hasn’t gone unnoticed by Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who got an up-close look at Baker this past season.

I asked Mike McDaniel what defensive coach keeps him awake at night.

He talks about Belichick's positionless football then shouts out JONATHAN GANNON's use of BUDDA BAKER.

"He's kamikaze. 'How are you this fearless?' He's playing like he's the biggest player on the field." pic.twitter.com/uLGUxug0ws

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) April 4, 2025

“I think a guy that doesn’t get enough credit is coach Gannon in Arizona. He’s kind of taken a non-traditional approach to feature a really good player in Budda Baker,” McDaniel told ESPN’s Kevin Clark on Friday. “This guy’s all over the place. A lot of blitzing going on, a lot of shell coverage and a lot of defensive coaches that are really good at their jobs.

“He’s kamikaze. You just commend him, because you’re like, ‘How are you this fearless?’ He’s playing as though he’s the biggest player on the field. They do a great job complementing each other where they’ve kind of built a unique system that isn’t off any particular format that I’ve seen in the NFL where he’s able to do those highlight things more and more. That’s what you do with your key players, so hats off. He’s a downhill tackler.”

Baker’s stat-stuffing 2024 more than back up McDaniel’s thoughts on the safety.

Turning in a full season of work (17 starts), Baker racked up 2.0 sacks, 164 tackles (10 for loss), five passes defensed, three QB hits and a forced fumble. He set career marks in tackles and tackles for loss while tying career bests in QB hits and sacks.

As for what he did against McDaniel’s Dolphins in 2024? 12 tackles and a pass defensed in an Arizona win.

For his efforts, he was named to his seventh Pro Bowl and was voted a Second Team All-Pro. Baker also inked a contract extension midseason.

One of the biggest changes in Baker’s role was his increased presence in the box. According to Pro Football Focus, he logged a career-high 421 defensive snaps in 2024, surpassing his previous high of 368 in 2020.

Cardinals’ Jonathan Gannon clears things up about Budda Baker’s usage

McDaniel made sure to give Gannon his flowers for the head coach’s implementation of Baker in Arizona’s defense.

Gannon, however, had to clear things up.

“By the way, I told Gannon about this clip, and he said DC Nick Rallis was responsible for the plans for Budda Baker that McDaniel praises.”

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