As is the case every year, the University of Georgia sends several high-profile defenders into the NFL draft in 2025; none, however, with the fanfare of third-year safety Malaki Starks. A high school track and football star in Jefferson, Georgia, Kirby Smart didn't have to look far to court him to Athens, securing the services of the then No. 4 recruit in the Nation in March of 2021.
Starks immediately became a vital piece to the Bulldogs' defense that won the National Championship his freshman year. He secured Consensus All-American honors as a sophomore in 2023 and first-team honors this year as one of college football's most prolific safeties and nickel defenders/STAR/whatever terminology you want to use. In each of the last three drafts, we've seen one of these versatile defensive backs slip in the draft and go on to be smashing successes for their NFL teams. Of course, I'm talking about Kyle Hamilton, Brian Branch, and Mike Sainristil. Considering Starks has some multi-use upside, will the NFL not learn from their mistakes and make that 4-for-4?
Player Bio
Name: Malaki Starks
Jersey: No. 24
Position: Safety
School: Georgia
Class: Junior
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 205 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Florida and South Carolina (2023), vs. Clemson, Alabama, and Notre Dame (2024)
Major Injury History: Starks underwent offseason shoulder surgery after the 2023 season but missed no games as a result.
Instincts (12.5/15)
Overall, I thought Starks's all-around instincts were excellent outside of a few areas. There were a handful of times, mainly vs. the run, where I would've liked him to trust what he sees in front of him and attack downhill. It wasn't alarming (hence the score still being relatively good), but there were a handful of plays you could point to and say he could've done better. This rep vs. Alabama and Jalen Milroe would be one of those.
I can understand some hesitation here since Milroe makes his move right at the line of scrimmage, but he sure looked committed to the scramble here. It's simply one of those plays where you just have to turn your brain off and say "perish" internally or try to work him to the sideline without getting caught flat-footed like he did here. As a matter of fact, there was a play his ex-teammate and current Green Bay Packer Javon Bullard made vs. Florida in 2023 that I was hoping to see Starks do something close to, which, in fairness, there were two/three, but nothing like this. Look at this: This is an excellent example of trusting what you see and going for the jugular and simply too good not to share.
Starks was also guilty of biting heavy on a couple of trick plays and then a flea flicker on tape, which led to some big gainers. I think Starks has tremendous instincts as a defensive back; you need to get people in his ear to remind him of that and tell him to trust his eyes and athletic ability to make more impact plays consistently. That's the key issue with him, and once that's squared away, he'll be fine.
Range/Closing Speed (14.25/15)
The best example I can give of Starks' ability to cover a lot of ground and close the distance to a pass catcher is against Alabama in the 2023 SEC Title game (courtesy of Field Yates). Watch him here, starting out at the far side, right on the 40-yard marker.
That's a ton of ground to make up as it is, and he ends up making a phenomenal play on this. More than a few good examples like that popped up in these games.
Man Coverage (9/10)
You have to have some good man cover chops to run the STAR, and I can assure you Starks passes the eye test as a man defender. Some shiftier guys got him with good release craft off the line, but he's fully capable of working vertically with pass catchers and has the closing speed ability to remain in close coverage playing off. You'd want him to be a bit better up at the line, especially if he's going to get true slot corner snaps in the NFL, but you don't need Starks to be prime Darrelle Revis by any stretch. It's easy to see him having immediate success in a (smaller) TE eraser role as well. (Note: The second clip is a good rep in my book. Ryan Williams is simply a demon of a 17-year-old)
Zone Coverage (9.25/10)
Starks' ability to read and react in zone looks was also impressive. There were a lot of snaps where QBs weren't throwing his way in zone looks, and for good reason. His ability to rotate into C3 looks out of two high was excellent, as was his ability to bracket defenders. While I would've liked to have seen more true C2 zone looks, there wasn't much else to knock here.
Ball Skills (9.25/10)
One of the first things you'll likely see when you look up Starks on YouTube or Twitter is these two miraculous interceptions in the 2022 and 2024 season openers, respectively.
Absolute freak show stuff. Starks has 17 career PBUs along with six picks at Georgia, the interception on the right being his lone snag of the 2024 season. Ball production, in general, was a bit down across the board this most recent season; however, that's not a long-term concern.
Change of Direction (8.75/10)
Starks was a tad tight in the hips for my liking, but his directional fluidity is still very solid. Watch him pull the trigger downhill here against 'Bama on a trick play; more speciffically, how he transitions out of this backpedal right before he goes downhill. That'll play.
Tackling/Run Support (8.75/10)
The numbers and eye test will tell you that Starks is as good a tackler as it gets. He is a really good wrap-up guy who made a handful of last-line defense stops and 197 total tackles across his three seasons in Athens. Starks did whiff on seven tackles in the 2024 season and has a little work to do when it comes to taking better angles vs. the run. Nothing overtly alarming, but worth docking him here.
Versatility (9.5/10)
They don't make safeties with Starks' range too often. He has the range to play single high, robber, two deep in Cover 2 or 3, slot corner, in the box, or, more simply, nickel/slot/STAR defender at a pretty high level. The STAR is his best spot based on these five games, but I was genuinely impressed with the majority of his snaps playing centerfield. I'd imagine Starks wouldn't have much trouble moving around and being a Jack of All Trades type in the NFL.
Athleticism (9.5/10)
It's not much of a stretch to say Starks is a fantastic athlete, even by safety standards. So it should come as no surprise to hear that he was a track and field demon in high school. In 2021, Starks put up a best long jump of 24" 9' long jump, best 100m dash of 10.55 seconds, and best 200m dash of 21.67 seconds, winning that year's long jump state championship.
Player Summary
Took me about three games to realize that Malaki Starks is an absolute stud. High Football IQ, high motor, and the physical tools to be a great NFL player. The problem? The NFL doesn't truly value his positional archetype as much as they should. We saw it with Kyle Hamilton nearly slipping outside of the top 15 in 2022 and Brian Branch and Mike Sainristil (the latter of whom I was as high on as anyone) slipping out of the first round and into the 40s these last two seasons. I will lose hours upon hours of sleep over the mere thought of a guy like Starks slipping into the late 20s or the 30s and ending up in a place like KC or Baltimore. Does anyone want that to happen, quite frankly?
As of the time of writing, do I believe Malaki Starks is a top 10 talent? 150 percent, closer to 1 than 10, as a matter of fact. Would I blame anyone in the top 10 for addressing more definitive needs than a STAR/slot/nickel defender? Not at all, but if you're one of these teams in the teens with the board not falling in your favor and/or you want to go the "best player available" route, you'd be incredibly foolish not to consider Starks as a viable option. Looking at that first handful of picks outside of the top 10, teams like the Dolphins, 49ers, Cowboys, Colts, and Falcons should be all over him; the former two especially, given their current free-agency situations. Simply put, if you want a really good, instant-impact defender who has room to grow, Malaki Starks is your guy. Pass on him at your own risk.
Rookie Projections: DROY Contender
Third-Year Projection: Pro Bowl Caliber Safety/STAR
Final Grade (90.75/100): Top-10 Talent
Main Image via
Commenti