Ravens Tipped to Steal Draft Faller Amid Ar’Darius Washington Worry
They are prepared to risk losing Ar’Darius Washington in 2025 NFL free agency, but the Baltimore Ravens won’t mind taking the chance if a sliding talent falls all the way to them with the 27th pick in this year’s draft.
The faller in question is Georgia safety Malaki Starks, an ideal replacement for Washington. It’s a scenario mapped out by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.
His latest mock has the Ravens pouncing to take Starks at the back end of the first round. As Kiper put it, he’s “mentioned the big-play woes for Baltimore’s defense in the past, and the team didn’t really do anything to fix them in free agency. It allowed 58 plays for 20 or more yards this past season, third most in the NFL, and Baltimore hasn’t added a defensive back. But Starks has the skill set to thrive alongside Kyle Hamilton from the back end. Starks closes well to break up passes and stop the run, and he can be used over the slot, if necessary.”
Ravens Would Love Malaki Starks Steal
Waiting patiently in their original slot and seeing a prime talent fall to them would be typical of the Ravens on draft day. They’d surely love the chance to steal Starks off the board.
His range and natural flair as a playmaker make the 21-year-old an ideal bookend to All-Pro Hamilton. The latter is also a roving menace who can cause problems for offenses in every area of the field.
Starks played a similar game for the Bulldogs, but he’s become one of this year’s more contentious prospects. Some, including Connor Rogers of PFF College, believe “Starks is wildly under-appreciated at this point of the draft process.
Others, like Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports, think Starks is “Equal parts FTW and WTF.”
The wild split of opinion probably explains why Starks “is starting to slide down” draft boards, according to Touchdown Wire’s Patrick Conn. He was “struck” by Kiper’s belief Starks will be available as late as 27.
Conn outlined how “The two-time All-American and Freshman All-American was very active for a Georgia Bulldogs defense that develops NFL talent in droves. Starks produced six interceptions to go along with 17 passes defended and 197 combined tackles. He wasn’t afraid to stick his nose in the backfield either with 6.0 TFLs.”
Numbers like those leave Conn convinced pairing Hamilton with Starks “would be a lethal combination on the backend.”
