Both Malaki Starks and Nick Emmanwori model their games after and greatly admire the Ravens two-time Pro Bowler.
The Baltimore Ravens were blessed when one of the top safety prospects to come out of college in the last decade fell into their laps in the middle of the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. They didn’t hesitate to take Kyle Hamilton with the No. 14 overall pick despite being widely recognized as a top-10 and even top-five talent.
As a result of the devaluation of his position league-wide, the Ravens were able to stick with their best player available philosophy and land an absolute steal. During his first three years in the NFL, Hamilton has established himself as arguably the best safety in the league having been voted to two Pro Bowls and named to two All Pro teams.
His success has been an inspiration to aspiring NFL hopefuls including the top two safety prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft class. Both Malaki Starks of Georgia and Nick Emmanwori of South Carolina expressed their admiration for Hamilton when speaking with the media at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday.
South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori said it would be scary for the league if he was paired with Kyle Hamilton in the Ravens defense. He told me Hamilton is a “swiss army knife” who can shut down a whole side of the field which is similar to his style of play. #RavensFlock… pic.twitter.com/yIadSQDEr3
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) February 27, 2025
“He’s like a finesse player, he’s just all over the field, Swiss Army knife, he can do everything,” Emmanwori said. “He shuts down the whole side of the field. I was watching some games and he made a play back to back to back, this dude’s amazing.”
At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Emmanwori most closely resembles Hamilton when it comes to physical dimensions, aggressive downhill playing style and positional versatility. He recorded six interceptions and two touchdowns in his final two two college seasons and believes it would be “scary for the league” if they let him fall to the Ravens at the bottom of the first round where he’d join forces with Hamilton to form the most athletic safety tandem in the league.
Starks is more of a natural free safety with excellent range and ball skills having recorded six interceptions and 17 pass breakups in his collegiate career. However, he played in the box as well as in the slot during his time with the Bulldogs and believes he can be a dynamic chess piece in the backend as well after watching the plethora of ways Hamilton has been deployed in Baltimore to start his career.
Georgia safety Malaki Starks said Kyle Hamilton is one of the best safeties in the game, and that he watches a lot of Hamilton’s tape. pic.twitter.com/l9pY5E9vbx
— Garrett Downing (@GarrettDowning) February 27, 2025
“I think my biggest [strength] is being versatile, being able to move around, being able to line up inside, outside, in the box, being able to understand the defense, communicate,” Starks said.
The Ravens already proved they have one of the best safety tandems in the league in the second half of last season when Ar’Darius Washington was inserted into the starting lineup. Nevertheless, their defense is at its best, most dangerous and diverse when they have a trio of safeties they can utilize in a multitude of ways.
There’s a chance one or both Starks and Emmanwori could still be on the board when the Ravens are on the clock at No. 27 overall. No matter which one it is or whomever they choose if both are available to be selected, they’d be the beneficiary of the league letting yet another gifted playmaker fall into their laps in either event.