All the Baltimore Ravens had to do was sit still and let the board fall to them to make a major upgrade. When Georgia safety Malaki Starks slipped out of the top 20, the front office stayed patient and made the obvious move at No. 27—take the best player available.
Starks wasn’t just a "would be nice to have" pick. With Marcus Williams no longer in the picture, the Ravens needed a new center fielder for their secondary. Ar'Darius Washington filled in nicely, but he doesn't scream long-term starter. Starks brings the exact profile they’ve come to value on defense: rangy, instinctive, high-IQ, and battle-tested. He reads the field like a quarterback, tracks the ball in the air, and erases throwing windows before they open.
Add that to a secondary already featuring Kyle Hamilton, Nate Wiggins, and Marlon Humphrey, and it’s clear Baltimore upgraded its secondary in more ways than one.
Malaki Starks was Jordan Reid’s favorite pick of the draft
Plenty of analysts gave the pick high grades. ESPN’s Jordan Reid went a step further and named it his favorite selection of the entire 2025 NFL Draft. He summed it up this way:
“Once again, the Ravens allowed the board to fall to them and simply took the best player available. Starks doesn’t play a position of immediate need, but the Ravens don’t bypass talent to reach for needs at certain positions. With the recent release of Marcus Williams, Starks could start right away at free safety and be another crucial performer for an already versatile secondary.”
Starks finished his Georgia career with six interceptions, nearly 200 tackles, and two First-Team All-American nods in 2023 and 2024. He was the captain of one of college football’s most consistently dominant defenses and played every role asked of him—deep safety, nickel corner, and run-stopping enforcer. And he's ready to get to work.
His ability to complement Hamilton without overlapping roles gives second-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr—who was ecstatic about the pick—flexibility to be as creative as he wants. Hamilton will get to stay close to the line of scrimmage, where he’s at his best. Starks will handle the deep third and everything in between.
And with Starks patrolling the back end, newly hired Senior Secondary Coach Chuck Pagano can help bring Baltimore’s coverage vision to life. He’s got the range, the instincts, and the trust of a staff counting on him to stabilize a unit that finished second-worst in pass defense last season.
It’s not flashy, but it’s smart—and the Ravens always seem to find value that just makes sense. This one might already be the steal of the first round, at least according to the draft experts.