Ravens Defender Labeled Instant Star Before Taking a Single Snap

The Baltimore Ravens' defense had a mid-season turn-around rarely seen in the NFL. After ranking in the bottom five of both EPA per play and EPA per dropback from Weeks 1-10, the Ravens ranked first in both categories from Weeks 11-18.

A lot of that turnaround is credit to the likes of All-Pros Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey, whose respective roles became more solidified in the second half of the season and helped change the defense.

Now, on top of having Humphrey and Hamilton, the Ravens signed Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander and drafted Georgia safety Malaki Starks to give themselves the potential best secondary in the NFL. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report writes that it's easy to buy into Starks being an instant star in Baltimore, which will only make the Ravens that much more dangerous.

"After drafting first-round safety Malaki Starks and adding Jaire Alexander, the Baltimore Ravens might have the league's best secondary in 2025," Knox writes. "Starks entered training camp looking to use his versatility to complement Hamilton at safety."

Knox added that Starks' versatility is a big reason why it's easy to buy into the Georgia product being an instant difference-maker in Baltimore.

"We can buy the idea of Starks being an immediate standout and an interchangeable chess piece alongside Hamilton. Bleacher Report's Scouting Department tabbed the Georgia product as the draft's top overall and 'most versatile' safety in its final draft board," Knox writes. "He has already impressed the Ravens this offseason... The rest of Baltimore's secondary may or may not shine, but its safety tandem should be a consistent highlight reel."

Should everyone on Baltimore's defense, and their offense for that matter, live up to their expectations, this will be the best Ravens team of the Lamar Jackson era. However, the flip side of that coin is that if they come up short once again, the questions will get very loud on if the Ravens will ever get the job done.