The NFL kept its 2026 Top 100 countdown rolling Wednesday when it placed Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker at No. 75. Peers voted the 10-year veteran onto the list for the seventh straight year after he delivered another high-motor season in the desert.
Baker started all 16 games and led the Cardinals with 120 tackles. That number tied him for second among all defensive backs in the league. He also added one interception, five passes defended, a fumble recovery and a half-sack while surpassing 1,000 career tackles during the campaign. Those numbers, paired with his consistent leadership in the secondary, earned him another nod from the players who face him twice a year.
The Clip That Shows Why Peers Still Respect Him
The league paired the ranking with a sharp NFL Films segment that captures the exact traits voters rewarded. Bodies crash into a pile near the goal line. Baker stays square, drives through contact and finishes the play with his usual pop. His voice rises above the thud of pads: “I got what’s for y’all today.”
No. 75 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026…@AZCardinals S Budda Baker! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/dqWNvauhc6
— NFL (@NFL) July 8, 2026
That line sums up the edge he has carried since the Cardinals drafted him in the second round out of Washington in 2017. Baker does not just tackle. He arrives with purpose, wraps cleanly and makes ball carriers feel it. Opposing offenses scheme around that presence every week.
What the Ranking Reflects
Baker’s placement at 75 comes after he finished higher in prior cycles, including No. 34 on the 2025 list. The drop does not erase the production. It highlights how crowded the top of the safety position has become while still recognizing the rare combination of tackling volume, coverage versatility and veteran command he brings at age 30.
Peers do not hand out Top 100 spots for reputation alone. They see the film. They feel the hits. Baker keeps showing up in the same place: around the ball, on time and with force. That reliability keeps him in the conversation even as younger names climb the board.
The Cardinals leaned on him again in 2025 as he anchored a secondary that needed his range and communication. His ability to play deep, in the box or on tight ends gives coordinators flexibility they rarely find from one player. The peer vote simply confirmed what the tape already showed.
Baker’s presence extends beyond the stat sheet. Younger defensive backs watch how he prepares and how he finishes. The mic’d-up fire in the NFL Films clip reminds everyone why he remains a tone-setter in the locker room and on the field.
The 2026 Top 100 countdown continues to roll out daily. Baker’s spot at 75 slots him alongside other recent reveals in the upper 70s and 80s, a group that reflects the league’s broad respect for consistent, high-impact performers rather than flash alone.
