Kirby Smart may be a visor man, but the Bulldog head coach just scored a hat trick.
There’s Baltimore Ravens have selected UGA safety Malaki Starks with the 27th pick in the NFL Draft, making him the third Bulldog to go in tonight’s first round. What do the Ravens get in Starks?
Proven production. Starks was a fixture across his three seasons in Athens. As a true freshman in 2022 he started 14 games at safety for the undefeated national champions, and was recognized as a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. Starks produced 68 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 2 INTs, and 7 PBUs on a defense that will go down as one of the best in the SEC during the past decade.
As an encore Starks earned First-team Associated Press All-American and First-team All-SEC nods in 2023. He was also a finalist for the Nagurski (nation’s top defender) and Jim Thorpe (nation’s top DB) Awards, again starting all 14 games and racking up 52 tackles, 3 INTs, and 7 PBUs.
Starks emerged as the leader of the UGA secondary in 2024, leading the team with 77 tackles and earning Second-team Associated Press All-American and Second-team All-SEC honors, while again being recognized as a Thorpe Award finalist.
The former five star recruit from Jefferson is a versatile safety whose size (6’1, 197 pounds) and athleticism (verified 4.50 forty, 33” vertical) enable him to contest nearly every ball thrown his way. Starks is a true centerfielder ant the safety position, whose straight line speed and ball skills allow him to make plays on the ball in the deep middle of the field, creating turnovers from what are supposed to be 50/50 balls. Georgia fans have seen Malaki Starks turn throwaway balls into instant turnovers, and Ravens fans should now get that pleasure.
On the downside, Starks isn’t the most physical safety at the line of scrimmage, and can get washed out in run support. He’s more at home running downfield than crashing the line and taking on blockers the way more compact safety/star hybrid players might. Still, Malaki usually finds a way to get the guy with the ball on the ground if he makes contact.
Starks also struggled with inconsistency at times in college, getting beat on double moves/ combo routes on occasion. While he can run with just about anyone, Starks can be baited into getting out of position. That will be a part of his game that can and should improve though. Starks is a player Kirby Smart has repeatedly lauded for his work ethic, and I doubt he’ll leave that behind when he moves to Maryland.
If he can improve his consistency and continue to refine his man coverage skills, Malaki Starks should become a reliable starter on the back end in Baltimore. While Edgar Allen Poe may have advised his readers to believe nothing that they heard and only half of what they saw, I can assure you reader that the Ravens have made a late night selection that they’ll never more regret.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!