Round: 3
Pick: 73
Height: 6′ 1″
Weight: 229
The Miami Dolphins selected former Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft Friday evening. He went No. 73 overall.
Baker spent three seasons as a Buckeye before opting to turn pro. He was a two-year starter, and was named honorable mention all-conference in both 2016 and 2017.
He was Ohio State’s leading tackler in 2017, with 72, and was second on the team with 83 a year earlier
Baker had only two career interceptions as a Buckeye, but both came in enormous spots.
In 2016, he picked off Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and ran it back 68 yards for a touchdown in the Buckeyes’ blowout win.
Then later that season, with OSU trailing by 10 late in the third quarter against Michigan, he intercepted Wilton Speight’s pass and took it all the way down to the Michigan 13. The Buckeyes would score a touchdown two plays later to cut their deficit to just 17-14.
Baker originally committed to the University of Florida before switching his commitment to Ohio State. He will now finally get to play his football in the state of Florida.
Projecting Baker As A Pro
Inside The Pylon broke down Baker and hundreds of other prospects from a statistical and film-based perspective. What you see below is just a small portion of Baker’s player profile. You can get the rest by buying their incredible 431-page Draft Guide.
Overall Rank: No. 126
Position Rank: No. 8 Linebacker
Baker is a plus athlete with the ability to diagnose and chase quickly, but he lacks the strength and hand placement vs inside runs to be a starter day one. Better in a Zone scheme due to poor Man coverage technique.
PROJECTIONS
One-Year Projection: A 4-3 strong/weakside linebacker who has the flexibility and athleticism to provide depth at both OLB positions. Will compete for a sub-package role because of his ability to defend the pass. Will provide depth as a core special teamer. Needs to develop more upper body strength at the point of attack vs offensive linemen.
Three-Year Projection: Will be in contention to be a starting three-down WLB/SLB. Should still provide depth in the special teams phase covering kicks and blocking for returns.
You can get an extended profile of Jerome Baker’s NFL projection here.
James Mills could be 100% correct. However I blame the player more then the coach. Baker played the last 9 games not to get hurt. It cost him a ton of money. He has the ability to be one of the best L.B. in NFL. It’s up to him!!!
The Dolphins have work to do. Jerome virtually lost a year of development (as did Chris Worley) having to play for a guy who simply can’t coach college football. Maybe better stated, he can’t DEVELOP college linebackers.
Yeah it was a real disservice what happened to the LBs in Fickell’s absence. Baker went from looking like a top 10 draft pick to a guy completely lost…I hope that coaching issue has been figured out.