The Baltimore Ravens added another Georgia Bulldog to their defense in April when they selected safety Malaki Starks toward the end of the first round. As it turns out, the Ravens had been intrigued by Starks for quite some time, and a former Georgia assistant gave his stamp of approval along the way.
Former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who has the same role in Baltimore, gave his input on Starks in a video shared by the Ravens on Monday. Baltimore brass had met with Starks during the NFL Combine the day before, and they came away impressed just like Monken was when he saw Starks in Athens.
"He's on point right off the bat. I mean, he's eyes wide awake, he's smart," Monken said. "Malaki is a stud. From the moment — like, you could tell in recruiting him at Georgia, you could tell he was wide awake. Great family. Like, stud. It's like, alright, this guy's different. Like, whatever skillset he's got, he's going to maximize it."
Starks came to Georgia with a huge amount of hype given his five-star status at Jefferson High School. It took all of one quarter at the collegiate level for him to prove he was ready for the big stage.
Starks made an acrobatic interception of Oregon quarterback Bo Nix in Starks' first collegiate game, and the young defensive back was set up for success from there. He earned a starting safety role opposite of Chris Smith after that game and maintained it for the entire 2022 season, a run which earned him Freshman-All American status from the Athletic and made him a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.
Starks followed that up with a fantastic sophomore season. He earned unanimous first-team All-American and first-team All-SEC status in 2023 by recording 52 tackles, 7 pass break-ups, and 3 interceptions. He was also named a Jim Thorpe Award finalist for his efforts that fall.
Starks moonlighted between safety and STAR in 2024, but he was still effective for the Bulldogs. He racked up 77 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 pass break-ups, and 1 interception. His play earned him second-team All-American status and made him a Jim Thorpe Award finalist once again.
Starks left Georgia with 197 career tackles along with 17 passes defended, 6 interceptions, and 6 tackles for loss.
.@starks_malaki's Combine interview had the Ravens impressed
Wired tonight ➡️ https://t.co/QAMrHDbpc4 pic.twitter.com/JIkt89Osme
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 19, 2025
Starks joins a Baltimore defense that aims to be one of the very best in the NFL this season. The Ravens' weakness in 2024 was their pass defense, as they allowed the second-most passing yards per game (244.1) and tied for the 10th-most passing touchdowns allowed (27).
Baltimore is counting on its safety combination of Starks and Kyle Hamilton to help clean those issues up.
Monken has been on the Ravens' staff since 2023, and Starks is the first Georgia player the franchise has drafted in that time. Based on Monken's pre-draft praise, the veteran play-caller is likely thrilled to have Starks on his squad again.
"What you see is what you get. Great dude, works hard, athletic as hell," Monken said.