ESPN’s Jordan Raanan stated in a recent article that it was not uncommon for New York Giants‘ DeAndre Baker to sleep during meetings in his rookie season.
Analysis:Â Baker’s rookie season was rocky, to say the least. At one point, he got called out in a team meeting, and his seven touchdowns allowed as the nearest defender was tied for fourth in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. There are questions about Baker’s desire to be great. Sleeping in meetings was not uncommon. But considering he improved on the field as the season progressed, he should be better with experience. How much? It helps that new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham had his cornerbacks in press coverage for more than 50% of the snaps last season. That plays to Baker’s strengths. He was in press coverage 26.7% of the time his rookie year.
Baker struggled immensely in 2019 but picked up his play as the season progressed. There were red-flags coming out of college that included arrogance, and sleeping during meetings might be a consequence of that. This is not the type of player you invest a first-round pick in if you’re trying to rebuild your team and locker-room.
Another review pre-draft:
“In speaking to team sources, they feel that Baker’s tape and talent level should have him going in the No. 10-15 range of the 1st round, but they believe he will slide some because he has off-the-field issues and has not interviewed well with teams during the lead up to the 2019 NFL Draft.†A quote coming from Walterfootball.com.
The New York Giants need to put Baker in a position to succeed:
The former Georgia standout is a good football player with a lot to prove, but these early signs of immaturity hurt his development tremendously. It’s possible Raanan was trying to state that he was not retaining the information in meetings, therefor the sleeping comment, but it seems clear-cut from our perspective.
If this is true, Baker must be penalized in the future for that type of behavior. New head coach Joe Judge will not tolerate those types of actions, and Baker better be prepared to feel the fury if he continues to act up.
However, losing might have played a significant part in his degradation. Hopefully, winning and success will fuel a more mature and appreciate DeAndre Baker.