on january 8, 2018, baker released a statement on his twitter account announcing his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 nfl draft. baker attended the nfl scouting combine and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill. on march 22, 2018, he participated at ohio state's pro day and performed the short shuttle, three-cone drill, and positional drills. baker attended pre-draft visits with the denver broncos, san francisco 49ers, and jacksonville jaguars. after the pre-draft process, baker was projected to be a third or fourth-round pick by nfl draft experts and scouts. he was ranked the seventh-best linebacker in the draft by "sports illustrated", was ranked the seventh-best outside linebacker by scouts inc., and was ranked the 12th best outside linebacker by draftscout.com.