It's a story as old as time: The Baltimore Ravens didn’t have to trade up, get cute, or overthink anything. They just waited. Watched the board fall to them (per usual). And when pick No. 27 arrived, they did what they always seem to do—take the best player available. This time, it was Georgia safety Malaki Starks... who happens to be a seemingly perfect fit.
The selection of Starks wasn’t met with fireworks or viral draft-night moments. But it should’ve been. For a team that’s already developed Kyle Hamilton into a Pro Bowler and multi-time All-Pro in just three seasons, adding another versatile chess piece to the back end is a terrifying proposition for every quarterback in the AFC. Starks isn’t just a talented safety—he’s the exact type of player the league covets on the back end: smart, physical, adaptable, and flat-out disruptive.
It didn’t take long for national analysts to take notice. In a recent Bleacher Report piece, Gary Davenport made sure to include Starks in his rookie rankings who could be an All-Pro or Pro Bowler in 2025.
Malaki Starks is already earning Pro Bowl-level praise
Davenport didn’t just toss Starks’ name in for filler. He praised the pick as another frustratingly smart move by a front office that never seems to miss when it comes to finding high-level defenders:
“Well, the Ravens struck again in 2025,” Davenport wrote. “Landing Georgia safety Malaki Starks with the 27th overall selection… Along with Pro Bowler Kyle Hamilton, Starks gives the Ravens (who ranked 31st in the league in pass defense) a pair of the sort of versatile, do-it-all safeties that NFL teams covet nowadays.”
He ended the blurb with a sentence that might already be a rallying cry in Baltimore:
“It won’t be at all surprising if Starks becomes every bit the defensive standout that Hamilton is in short order.”
For a team that was second-to-last in pass defense a season ago, adding a player like Starks isn’t just reactionary—it’s calculated. He’s a zone eraser. A pattern reader. A heat-seeking problem in coverage that allows Hamilton to roam freely and cause chaos near the line of scrimmage. Together, they form what could soon be the most complete safety tandem in the NFL.
The praise from Davenport only confirms what the Ravens already believed: Starks is going to be an impact starter on Day 1. If there’s one thing Baltimore knows how to do, it’s develop elite defensive backs. And if Starks becomes what Davenport (and defensive coordinator Zach Orr) think he can, then the rest of the league is in some serious trouble.
An All-Pro nod or Pro Bowl appearance as a rookie is no easy feat, but Starks clearly has the pedigree. That alone should fire up Flock Nation. Ravens fans have every reason to believe—Starks already looks like he belongs.