Analyst Names Ravens' Malaki Starks Among Favorite Picks

Malaki Starks has yet to step on the field for the Baltimore Ravens, but already, this seems to be a match made in Heaven.

Starks, the No. 27 overall pick in last week's NFL Draft, is a versatile safety who fills a major need for Baltimore. The Ravens were severely lacking in depth at the position, and that essentially forced Kyle Hamilton to play as a deep safety rather than lining up virtually anywhere as he did before. With Starks in the fold, they've significantly eased both of those concerns.

Many seem to believe that the Ravens hit a home run with their selection of Starks, with NFL.com's Chad Reuter even naming it as one of his favorite picks of the first round.

"Starks is a great fit for the Ravens, who needed some help in the secondary following the release of Marcus Williams," Reuter wrote. "Starks was an outstanding playmaker in college who had a less-than-ideal workout at the NFL Scouting Combine, similar to new teammate and star DB Kyle Hamilton back in 2022. And like Hamilton, Starks can play multiple positions, lining up deep, in the box or in the slot. It's a marriage made in defensive coordinator heaven."

The Ravens' secondary struggled in the first half of the season, causing them to make some big changes in the second half of the season. In doing so, however, they also severely limited their depth on the back end. They've made it a priority to address that concern in the offseason, with Starks being the crown jewel of their efforts.

On his end, Starks couldn't be happier to land in Baltimore.

"I felt like it was a really good place for me to be just with the type of organization that they run and the history they have there, as well. Just the things that they've been doing the last few years, I think it's a great fit for me just to come in and learn from a guy like Kyle Hamilton, [and] there are a lot of vets in the room, like Marlon Humphrey. I think it's amazing, and I think I fit the culture very well."