It didn’t take long for one of the Baltimore Ravens’ most hyped rookies to start making waves.
Just two days into OTAs, Malaki Starks is already pulling strong reviews from the one voice that carries the most weight in the building. Head coach John Harbaugh didn’t dance around it when asked about Starks’ early showings. He offered a response that speaks volumes, especially coming this early in the process.
“I haven’t seen him make a mistake yet,” Harbaugh said.
Eight simple words that will absolutely get Flock Nation buzzing. That’s the kind of praise that sticks, especially for a rookie who hasn’t even unpacked his NFL pads yet.
Malaki Starks already making strong impression at Ravens OTAs
Baltimore used the No. 27 overall pick in April on the former Georgia safety, a move that drew plenty of praise — and even more expectations. With Ar’Darius Washington sidelined with an Achilles injury, Starks is walking into a wide-open path to start alongside Kyle Hamilton. The early signs point to him taking full advantage of it.
Harbaugh’s comment may seem like your typical offseason fluff at first glance, but the context matters.
This is a team that dealt with coverage busts and blown assignments early and often last season. Communication was sloppy. The back end of the defense didn’t start clicking until a bit after midseason. So for a rookie to come in and draw a “mistake-free” label from Harbaugh in May, it’s not something to gloss over.
Starks was billed as a high-IQ prospect with the versatility to play everywhere from single-high to the slot. It’s clear the Ravens saw him as more than a developmental piece. He’s here to soak up minutes, and the staff already sounds comfortable with that plan.
The fact that he’s even getting meaningful looks with the veterans this early says a lot about how he’s viewed internally and where they expect him to be kickoff Week 1. Rookie mistakes are expected. Starks hasn’t offered any yet. The key term there is "yet," but he's got the tools to keep that momentum rolling through the offseason.
There’s still a long summer ahead. Mistakes will happen. But if this is the baseline for Starks — near-perfect — it’s not hard to imagine him being one of the few rookies in this class who plays a full-time role out of the gate. If he keeps stacking days like this, the Ravens are going to have one more problem-solver in the secondary and one more reason for opposing offenses to lose sleep.