They took him in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft to be a do-all safety in the manner of All-Pro Kyle Hamilton, but the Baltimore Ravens may have other plans for Malaki Starks, based on where he’s been playing at training camp.
Starks has taken “some reps at cornerback,” according to Ravens.com Staff Writer Clifton Brown. The latter noted how “versatility is one of Starks’ strengths and the Ravens plan to take advantage.”
Brown also quoted head coach John Harbaugh explaining the thinking behind moving Starks from safety to corner: “He’s definitely going to be a safety, but we do present the defense in different ways, and also the idea is to help him learn the defense. [He is] a very, very smart player.”
So while it’s a changeup, getting Starks comfortable at cornerback has a dual benefit for the Ravens. Starting with adding to an already multiple defensive scheme.
Moving pieces and disguise have become the cornerstones of defense in Baltimore in recent years, and both things are most evident in the secondary. A roving, multi-purpose defensive back like Hamilton, who can play deep, in the box or the slot, allows the Ravens to mix coverage and pressure and alter looks both pre- and post-snap.
Starks offers the same advantages. His skill-set is also multi-faceted, evidenced by the many ways he wrecked offenses for Georgia during his collegiate days.
One of the best examples of Starks ticking every box was highlighted by The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer. He focused on a game against Texas last season, when Starks “stayed in phase with slot receivers, recovered when he lost contact and ran the alley as a run defender” against the Longhorns.
Starks has carried that same range into the start of his career with the Ravens. It’s led to some impressive days at camp.
One of the most notable occurred on Thursday, July 24, when Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic credited Starks with having “broke up a pass to Charlie Kolar and then he picked off a Lamar Jackson overthrow.”
Plays like those are why “Starks has performed and started leading like a long-time veteran, not a rookie out of Georgia,” according to Ravens Wire writer Glenn Erby. He also noted Hamilton’s “praised Starks’ command of the defense, and he’s so versatile that John Harbaugh has given him reps at cornerback.”
Starks is meriting the praise and giving the Ravens the ideal partner for Hamilton. Or even a potential long-term replacement.
It will probably take a contract to shatter the market for the Ravens to keep Hamilton once his fifth-year option expires after this season. The 24-year-old is worth the investment, but general manager Eric DeCosta also needs to think about paying franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson what is likely to be historic money.
Perhaps the Ravens would sacrifice Hamilton if they received a rich enough offer. A trade package in that range would be easier to countenance if Starks was already playing at an elite level.
It’s a tall order for a rookie, but defensive coordinator Zach Orr already compares Starks to another former Ravens first-round pick on defense, inside linebacker C.J. Mosley. Orr didn’t believe Mosley played or prepared like a rookie when he entered the NFL as the 17th pick in 2014, and Starks has the same traits.
As Orr explained to reporters, including ESPN’s Jamison Hensley, Starks’ “attention to detail is phenomenal,” while the play-caller also applauded the 22-year-old for picking up “what you teach in the classroom and what you do in walkthroughs real fast and rarely makes a mistake.”
High maturity levels and natural talent can help Starks emulate the level of dominance Hamilton has achieved in the pro game. If so, Starks will give the Ravens options for a tricky contract situation down the road, while forming perhaps the best duo in football before that point.
