The Baltimore Ravens had a clear focus on defense in this year's draft, and addressed a subpar secondary from last season with their first-round pick.
General manager Eric DeCosta spent the No. 27 overall pick on Georgia safety Malaki Starks, and the selection was called "the best defensive fit of the first round" by ESPN.
DeCosta said Starks was one of the best Combine interview they had and considered the Georgia defender the best safety in the draft.
Starks has been named to NFL.com's All-Rookie Team by Gennaro Filice.
"Starks is represented by Nicole Lynn, but the trailblazing agent has a serious competitor when it comes to the dogged promotion of her client: ME! Seeing how my infatuation with the safety approached stalker levels during this draft cycle, his placement here was guaranteed the moment I was handed this assignment," Filice wrote.
"The fit in Baltimore is perfect, as Starks’ center field chops will allow Kyle Hamilton to return to the overhang role that made him a first-team All-Pro in 2023. And Malaki has already endeared himself to his head coach."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh has been impressed with Starks since Day 1.
“He was organizing walk-throughs at the hotel for the rookies pretty much the whole camp -- I think that’s pretty cool,” Harbaugh said last week. “He’s always on point.”
It's likely that Starks can be a Week 1 starter too. The Ravens kept free agent Ar'Darius Washington, who started the final 12 games of the season including the playoffs at safety. But he's struggled to stay healthy and has played more than three games just one time in four seasons.
"This was a guy that really checked every single box for us in a lot of different ways," DeCosta said. "There were some other players that we coveted it as well, but in the end, he was by far the best guy available for us when we made the pick."