The Ravens could instantly upgrade their pass defense by landing Georgia’s Malaki Starks, the top safety in the 2025 draft class.
With a strong defensive second level headed by linebacker Roquan Smith, the Ravens could feasibly find an impact player to either reinforce their front line or their secondary and both would likely be just as impactful as the other in their rookie seasons. A pass rusher would be a smart move with Kyle Van Noy getting further from 30, but adding a new defensive back would also go a long way in fixing the team’s struggling pass defense from this past season.
In a new mock from the great Mel Kiper, the draft godfather has the Ravens in line to land Georgia safety Malaki Starks with 27th-overall pick.
Here’s what he had to say about the pick:
“I’ve mentioned the big-play woes for Baltimore’s defense in the past, and the team didn’t really do anything to fix them in free agency. It allowed 58 plays for 20 or more yards this past season, third most in the NFL, and Baltimore hasn’t added a defensive back. But Starks has the skill set to thrive alongside Kyle Hamilton from the back end. Starks closes well to break up passes and stop the run, and he can be used over the slot, if necessary.”
“I actually have Starks ranked slightly ahead of Nick Emmanwori as the top safety in the class, even though the Ravens get Starks nine picks after Emmanwori was selected in this scenario.”
As things stand, Ar’Darius Washington is in line to start next to Kyle Hamilton on the back end after the former logged 10 starts in 17 games played during the 2024 season. However, if the team decides that is an area they still wish to upgrade, they could do a whole lot worse than the draft’s top safety.
The 6’1, 197-pound Starks has three years of starting experience for one of the best teams in college football. He’s a high-processing safety with elite awareness of his surroundings and that helps him have some of the best deep-ball tracking in the class.
Per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, Starks is also very consistent in run support. While he’s not someone who you’ll see laying the wood more often than not, he’s a sticky, wrap-up tackler who doesn’t let players escape once he gets hands on.
Malaki Starks is still firmly a top-20 player in the class for me. Let him go back to playing deep safety, covering the deep half, and watch him thrive at the next level. pic.twitter.com/T2VhXz4b7m
— William Herman (@_williamherman) March 14, 2025
Overall, Starks is seemingly a very high-floor prospect that should be ready to walk into a NFL defense from day one and hit the ground running. South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori may also be an intriguing player to land in Baltimore, but his skillset as a sizable safety seems a bit redundant with Hamilton already on the team. Still, if the Ravens end up wanting to draft a new defensive back high, either a corner or safety, they should have some options around their draft slot this year.