Dolphins add versatile playmaker in latest mock draft

Only three teams allowed fewer yards than Miami last year as the team finished in the top 10 against both the pass and run, but neither free safety Jevon Holland nor strong safety Jordan Poyer is signed for next season. Together, the two combined for 160 tackles, seven pass breakups and a forced fumble while on the field for more than 90% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2024.

PFF ranks Holland as the league’s third-best free agent and worthy of a four-year, $98M contract in the offseason. Already $14M over next year’s cap, Miami could be hesitant to match such an offer, making Starks an ideal choice with the 13th-overall pick.

As Kiper notes, Starks works well in space and is versatile enough to line up as a traditional safety or over the slot. He backed up a 52-tackle season in 2023 by making 52 solo tackles, 77 overall, for the Bulldogs in 2024.

Pro Football Network calls Starks a “hyper-explosive, lab-built athlete with exceptional mass, proportions, and high-end length,” and like Kiper, believes he’s versatile enough to play two-high, single-high, in the box, or off-man in the slot.

Miami hasn’t drafted a first-round safety since they took Minkah Fitzpatrick 11th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Fitzpatrick made five Pro Bowls with three first-team All-Pro nominations, but only after being traded to the Steelers two games into the 2019 season.

Starks may prove to be just as talented, but the Dolphins will need to get more than the 18 games they got from Fitzpatrick out of him.