One would think that being drafted in the first round by the New York Giants, who traded up for him, would mean things would go well for DeAndre Baker this year, but that largely hasn’t been the case.
Baker has quickly become one of the most maligned players on the team for his failures at the cornerback position, even if those failures can’t entirely be blamed on him – the Giants are thin at the position meaning Baker has been thrown into a starting position immediately and expected to keep up, playing entire games at the number two corner spot and being the obvious target for opposing offenses and quarterbacks.
Things have only gotten worse for Baker however as criticism has picked up, not just for his bad play in an impossible situation, but for his attitude and hustle, or lack thereof in the case of the latter. After all, while Baker can’t control the situation, his own level of hustle is something that is in his own hands.
Former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes is among the critics for the rookie corner, as shown by his Twitter reply to one of Baker’s plays.
The worst part about this is that your teammates see it which is almost worse than the coach seeing it.Guys like this get zero and I mean zero respect in a locker room. He has time to fix it but if he doesn’t his teammates will cut him first then the organization will. https://t.co/hgkv3WsGw5
— Lawrence Tynes (@lt4kicks) November 13, 2019
It’s a bit of a stretch to say that Baker will end up cut by the team but it is a reality for a number of first round draft picks who have lacked some of the things that coaches care about the most besides raw talent – namely effort and commitment to improvement and learning. On the subject of learning, it’s been a problem for Baker, who admitted nearly halfway into the season that he’s still learning the team’s playbook.
It remains to be seen whether that fact is the fault of Baker or the coaching staff, both of which haven’t performed up to expectations this season, but Tynes wasn’t the only former Giant to chime in on the overall situation.
I sincerely believe he could use a tutor that's not in the building everyday someone that's "been there done that" Spaggs brought in Sam Madison and D Grant (both students of the game and that "system") to assist young DB's .. It could be worth it if JB has a guy in his rolodex https://t.co/jVlojt7uV1
— Carl Banks (@CarlBanksGIII) November 13, 2019
Will we see improvement from Baker as the second half of the season continues? That question is unresolved as competition from Sam Beal mounts, but it’s clear that regardless of the answer, Baker has a thing or two to work out if he wants to remain in his starting position.