Malaki Starks is coming off possibly the worst game of his entire football career. Yes, even before he reached the NFL. He was that bad in the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 2 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Luckily, he has the perfect opportunity to rebound and re-emerge in Week 3. The Dallas Cowboys’ electrifying passing attack is sure to test him early and often if he's able to play.
Starks isn’t a guarantee to be on the field. He was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday as he deals with a hamstring issue. However, if he does play, the Cowboys will give him all he can handle.
Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens—that’s one matchup to draw after one of the worst games of your career.
If he steps up, though, he could quickly turn all those doubters into believers again.
Baltimore Ravens need Malaki Starks to start looking like the first-round talent they drafted
The Saints just had a feeding frenzy on Malaki Starks with Tyler Shough and Chris Olave. No disrespect to the duo, but if they made Starks look like a player who doesn’t even belong on the field; Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens could give Starks a whole sea of troubles.
Or, Starks could look like the top-15 talent the Ravens thought they were drafting in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Starks was an instant contributor at Georgia, starting as a freshman and even notching an interception in his first career game. Unfortunately, his introduction to the NFL wasn’t great, and his sophomore season has been simply awful two weeks in.
However, the talent is there. He was praised for his football IQ and instincts in zone coverage coming out of college, and he showed enough promise in his rookie campaign to suggest he could take another step in 2026.
Things obviously didn’t look good last week, but maybe he’s still adjusting to the new teachings of head coach Jesse Minter and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. With more time, Starks could start to look like the safety this defense needs.
Starks has an insanely tall task ahead with Cowboys' passing attack
There’s no better way to test whether a safety is truly ready to take those strides than the Cowboys' passing attack.
Starks’ job is to be the deep safety for Minter’s defense. Prescott, Lamb, and Pickens are sure to test those waters and then some.
Last year, Dallas was second in the NFL in passing yards with 4,527, just behind the Los Angeles Rams. For Starks, though, the challenging part lies with how often the Cowboys can dial up big-time plays. They're dangerous.
CATEGORY | STAT | RANK |
|---|---|---|
1st down percentage | 36.7% | 8th |
20+ yard passing plays | 56 | 9th |
40+ yard passing plays | 12 | tied for 1st |
Individually, Pickens should pose the biggest problem for Starks. He had a career-best season in 2025, posting 93 receptions, 1,429 yards, and 9 touchdowns. The 25-year-old was the Cowboys' splash-play threat, too.
CATEGORY | STAT | RANK |
|---|---|---|
1st downs | 73 | tied for 3rd |
20+ yard receptions | 22 | 4th |
40+ yard receptions | 4 | tied for 4th |
Pickens could also test Starks in the open field, as he put up 479 yards after the catch (12th) last year.
As for Lamb, he’s a beast. That goes without saying. 75 receptions, 1,077 yards, and 3 touchdowns was a down year for him in 2025. In 2026, he’s already up to 13 receptions, 197 yards, and 3 touchdowns.
Safe to say, that duo will be a problem on Sunday.
If Starks can live up to the first-round hype and win his individual battles in Brazil, the public perception of his ability could see a complete 180-degree turnaround. It’s a tall task, but he was a highly hyped player for a reason. And he knows he’s capable of better.
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