For the fourth time in Baltimore Ravens history, they selected a safety in the first round of the NFL Draft. Of the previous three, Matt Elam was the only one who didn’t work out, while Kyle Hamilton has become one of the premier defensive players in the game today. The first safety picked, of course, was Ed Reed—the greatest ever to play the position.
Malaki Starks from Georgia became the latest safety picked by Baltimore in the first round and will now join Hamilton and a stout secondary. Starks knows he has big shoes to fill.
On Friday, one day after the biggest moment of Starks’ career, he and his new defensive coordinator, Zach Orr, spoke to the press to introduce Baltimore’s newest rookie safety. ESPN’s Jamison Hensley asked Starks how it feels to now be a part of the Ravens’ long legacy at the safety position.
“Yes, I think it’s huge, and I take pride in it. A really big thing for me is showing respect for the guys who came before you and paving the way for the ones who are going to come after you. So just being able to be in that room and learn from those guys and just the history that runs here, like I said earlier, just really tap into that and learn what it means to be a Raven. I’m excited.”
Zach Orr excited about Starks’ fit in Ravens’ versatile defense
Orr was then asked how excited he was to have Starks, Hamilton, and the rest of the secondary together, along with the versatility they can bring to the defense.
“Definitely. I ran into Coach [John Harbaugh] this morning. We were in the weight room. We were already talking about all the different ways [of] how he adds to our defense, man, and we talk about the advantage that we feel like we have here in Baltimore is being positionless, and that’s all over the field, but especially with our secondary.
He helps create an advantage for us and a disadvantage to the [opposing] offense because he can line up all over the field for us and be productive along with the other DBs we have in the room, so we’re excited to continue to add to that, and it’s going to be great for us.”
Reed’s legacy in Baltimore is set in stone. He was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a five-time All-Pro, won the 2004 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, captured a Super Bowl XLVII title, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019. It’s obviously big shoes to fill for Starks to live up to the lofty expectations Reed brought with him as a first-round pick.
Starks said he wanted to learn what it means to be a Raven, and Reed is one of the players who defined that standard.
Of course, Starks will have to focus on being the first Malaki Starks, not the next Ed Reed. There’s only one Ed Reed. But what Starks can do is help carry on the footsteps Reed left behind, leading the Ravens’ secondary from 2002 to 2012. Fortunately, he’ll have Hamilton to lean on, who is already building quite a resume of his own. Together, they could form a special duo in Baltimore’s secondary.