As Budda Baker was doing his gorilla crawl, celebrating a sack on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Thompson let out a scream.
“It’s a really dope feeling,” Thompson said. “As a DB group, we’re all a family and we’re all brothers. One guy makes a play, you’re going to see the next guy hyped up, energized, and ready to go out there and make out own play.”
That was the case last Sunday. During a season when neither have really been able to stuff the stat sheet, the duo was watching each other have their best performance of the year. Early in the first quarter, Thompson came flying off the edge and had a strip-sack fumble recovered by Walter Nolen III for a touchdown. He also had a pass breakup in the end zone.
For the first time since 2022, Baker had an interception. He also split a sack with Calais Campbell.
“Budda has pretty much taught me everything I know in the NFL, on and off the field with just being a pro,” Thompson said. “Our chemistry is the best there is. I feel like we go out there, and we feed off each other’s energy.”
This weekend against the Buccaneers, Tampa Bay has one of the top safeties in Antoine Winfield Jr. But few teams have a safety tandem like the Cardinals do with Baker and Thompson.
Opposing offenses have noted that when they watch tape, it starts with highlighting Baker. Defensive backs coach Patrick Toney said the Jaguars nicknamed Baker “Waldo” heading into last weekend’s game — as in “Where’s Waldo?” The Jaguars were always focused on finding the Pro Bowler.
According to TruMedia, Baker has lined up in 16 different locations on the field. Thompson has also lined up in 16 different spots, which Baker believes has opened up more opportunities for the defense.