The Baltimore Ravens didn’t have to move an inch to get better on Thursday night. Georgia safety Malaki Starks, a projected top-10 talent, somehow slipped to pick No. 27. So naturally, Eric DeCosta stayed patient and made the most obvious smart decision of the night—he took the best player available.
Starks is everything a team could want in a modern free safety: rangy, instinctive, fast, and fully capable of making quarterbacks think twice before testing the deep middle. But what makes the pick even more impactful is the fit next to Kyle Hamilton. The Ravens now have two elite safeties with totally different styles—Hamilton is a problem in the box; Starks is a problem everywhere else.
Hamilton might have the most to gain from this pairing as a player, but he’s probably not the happiest person in the building.
While Ravens fans and defensive coordinator Zach Orr are surely thrilled, it’s hard to argue there’s anyone more excited than Chuck Pagano. The veteran coach came out of retirement this offseason to return to the Ravens as Senior Secondary Coach—and this pick just handed him the perfect player to work with.
Chuck Pagano came back to Baltimore at the perfect time
Pagano’s return to Baltimore already felt like a slam-dunk hire. He’s a respected voice with deep ties to the franchise, and he’s not chasing anything—he’s here to coach, develop, and help push this roster over the hump. Adding Starks to an already-loaded group of defensive backs gives him one more piece to work with—and it’s a big one.
“The role is absolutely perfect,” Pagano said earlier this offseason. “It’s an opportunity for me to go in and [say], ‘Hey, what do you need me to do? How can I help you guys develop these players?’ They’ve got phenomenal players back there.”
Now he gets a first-rounder who reads the game like a pro and carries himself like one too.
Starks has six interceptions, nearly 200 tackles, and a First-Team All-American nod. He sees the field, he closes windows, and he rarely gets caught out of position. That’s the kind of player who's going to instantly gel with Pagano.
The 64-year-old didn’t come back for just any job. He said no to plenty of offers that just didn’t feel right. But Baltimore checked all the boxes. With Starks now part of the equation, that gut feeling looks even better.
This is a unit built to win now, with a coach who knows exactly how to elevate it. What a gift. The Ravens must be thoughtful that way. For Pagano, it’s a perfect situation. For the Ravens, it’s one more reason to feel like this defense is finally ready to help Lamar Jackson finish the job.