The defining Malaki Starks highlight is unexpected in all the best ways. Unexpected because of what it entailed: a diving, full-extension interception along the right sideline in Georgia’s 2024 season opener. Unexpected because of whom it came against: perennial powerhouse Clemson and quarterback Cade Klubnik, a potential first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft. Unexpected because of where it happened.

Over his first two standout seasons at Georgia, Starks primarily lined up in traditional safety spots. He was as versatile as he was dependable, bouncing between the box and center field and occasionally the slot for the two-time national champion Bulldogs. But he’d never played more than 21 snaps in a game as a nickelback. Not until that blowout win against Clemson last fall. Starks’ highlight-reel pick came on his 29th and final slot snap of the game, according to Pro Football Focus. And he looked like a natural.

“When you cut on the film,” Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr said Friday, “it’s very evident that not a lot of people can do what Malaki Starks can do on the football field.”

That’s why the Ravens made him their top pick in the first round of Thursday night’s NFL draft. That’s why Starks earned a “red star” designation from the Ravens’ scouting staff, an honor bestowed on only the handful of prospects with distinguished on- and off-field qualities. That’s why Orr was so sure Starks wouldn’t last until the No. 27 overall pick and why Orr was so excited when the two-time All-American did.

Now the Ravens will find out what Starks can do on an NFL field. Starks was widely considered the top safety prospect in this year’s class for much of the predraft process, but he is not a perfect prospect. He has limitations. The Ravens’ challenge will be harnessing his gifts while addressing his weaknesses. Here’s where they can start.

Slot skills

Starks played almost 30% of his defensive snaps in the slot last season, a career high and his second-most-common alignment after deep safety. According to Sports Info Solutions, over 158 pass defense snaps in the slot, he allowed just 15 completions on 30 targets for 170 yards and no touchdowns.

Even more impressive, most of those plays came in man coverage. In “Cover 0” (an all-out blitz with no safeties in zone coverage), “Cover 1” (one safety) and “Cover 2 Man” (two safeties) looks, Starks allowed 13 catches on 25 targets for 151 yards, covering everyone from shifty wide receivers to imposing tight ends. Even when he lost contact with receivers at the break point in their routes, Starks could make up ground quickly and win at the catch point.

“There are not a lot of safeties who can do the zone [coverage], come up and tackle, play in the deep part of the field, and then most importantly, play man, not just on tight ends but on receivers, and Malaki did that at a high level,” Orr said. “So that’s a bonus and plus for us, because we’ll be able to use his skill set to the fullest and maximize his skill set that he’s worked at and he’s been blessed with.

“So I don’t anticipate that really changing here for us. That’s something that we value a lot. I think that, if you look at our secondary room, you see that a lot of our guys can do everything, so that’s why Malaki was so appealing to us.”

The Ravens have a cornucopia of slot options. All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, when he lines up inside, is one of the NFL’s best nickelbacks. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey isn’t far behind. Safety Ar’Darius Washington has experience in the slot. The Ravens want to weaponize their versatility, keeping quarterbacks guessing before the snap: Who’s coming? Who’s going? Starks adds another variable to that calculus.

Safety net

In his snaps at safety, Starks triggered quickly against the run and was rarely tested in coverage. In 2023, he finished with nearly as many interceptions (two) as he had completions allowed (three) when lined up deep, according to SIS. Last season, over Georgia’s first eight games, Starks was targeted just five times in coverage as a safety, allowing three catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. (Over his final six games, he saw slightly more activity, allowing four catches on seven targets for 53 yards.)

Starks’ “football GPA,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Thursday, is “very, very high.” Orr called him a “dawg” on the field and in the classroom. Instability and uncertainty plagued the Ravens’ safety room early last season, with Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson seemingly unprepared at key moments. Williams allowed 247 yards and three touchdowns when targeted in coverage in 11 games, according to PFF, while Jackson allowed 250 yards and three touchdowns in nine games.

“I don’t think it’s that hard to evaluate safeties,” coach John Harbaugh said Thursday. “The guy [Starks] is running around, making plays all over the field. … In the deep middle, he’s got range, so he showed ball skills. He showed all the things, and then you put on top of that the mentality that we talked about, the mindset, kind of the football character, I guess you could call it — the guy just loves to be out there, and he loves to play. He can’t wait to hit the grass, and to me, that’s been a good recipe for success, no matter what the position is. But he looks like a safety to me. We’ll see, but I bet he’ll prove us right."

Room to grow

DeCosta called the Ravens’ interview with Starks at the NFL scouting combine “probably one of the most impressive interviews we’ve ever had.” Part of the 15-minute session, Starks said in an interview, was a film review. He remembers the Ravens starting with lowlights.

“Just being able to have that confidence and stay true to myself while talking through the bad plays, while talking through the good plays, I think they appreciated my honesty and my passion about football,” Starks said.

Draft analysts said Starks’ 2024 film marked a step down from 2023. Starks also underwhelmed with his athletic testing at the combine, ranking in the 56th percentile among defensive backs with his 40-yard-dash time (4.50 seconds) and in the sixth and fourth percentiles, respectively, in the three-cone drill and short shuttle, according to MockDraftable. He also weighed in at 197 pounds, in the 15th percentile for safety prospects. Those athletic limitations were apparent in some games.

Against Alabama, Starks struggled to detach from a couple of open-field blocks. Later, on a third-and-5, he lost containment on dynamic Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe, a third-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks, on a 35-yard touchdown run. Starks also missed a couple of tackles in space and gave up a deep completion on an impressive juggling catch by star wide receiver Ryan Williams.

In the Southeastern Conference championship game, against a Texas team he’d shined against during the regular season, Starks had more issues. As a split-field safety early in the game, he couldn’t range over in time to break up a deep shot down the right sideline to Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden, a first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers. On a handful of quick hitters, Starks was a step slow in coverage.

In the NFL, the margins for error will be even smaller. But Starks, who won’t turn 22 until November, is still growing, too. He twice said Friday that he couldn’t wait to be a “sponge.”

“I’m a guy who loves football but also surrounding myself with good people, good men, because I’m still young, and I’m still learning,” he said. “So just being able to be at a place like this is huge for me and my family.”

The Ravens can be patient with Starks’ development, just as they were with Hamilton’s and cornerback Nate Wiggins’. Hamilton didn’t play more than 70% of the defensive snaps in a game until Week 9 of his rookie year, and Wiggins, a fellow first-round pick, waited until Week 4. The Ravens already have two returning starters at safety in Hamilton and Washington, along with two solid backups in Beau Brade and Sanoussi Kane.

Orr’s wait for Starks to fall Thursday night, he recalled, was stressful. But, when the Ravens finally made him their pick, Orr couldn’t wait to celebrate. It was unexpected in all the best ways.

“Our football coaches, we love football, we love guys who love football, and Malaki is one of those guys,” Orr said. “That was the guy we were focused on as coaches from a defensive standpoint the whole time, and as it gets closer, you start getting a little bit more anxious. So, when we found out that we were going to be able to get him here in Baltimore, [we were] just ecstatic. All our coaches, they watch football, they watch the tape, they know what type of player he is, and we’re glad to have him.”