OWINGS MILLS, Md. — When Malaki Starks’ combine interview ended, general manager Eric DeCosta looked around the Ravens’ Indianapolis hotel headquarters. Team officials were shaking their heads.
The Georgia safety had broken down plays and formations. He had communicated clearly. He had forecasted things before they happened on film. The Ravens were blown away. It was one of the best pre-draft interviews many of them had ever been a part of.
“I haven’t seen that type of detail in a long time,” DeCosta said.
The Ravens grade their pre-draft interviews, and Starks’ got sevens — the highest possible grade — across the board. But as the draft process unfolded and the first round drew near, there was a problem: Everybody else seemed to know that the Ravens were smitten with him.
DeCosta is fanatical about keeping secrets before the draft. He’s also not afraid to engage in a little subterfuge — the rule of thumb around the team is the more you hear that the Ravens love a prospect, the less likely they actually do. But that obviously was not the case with Starks, the player most frequently connected to the Ravens in the avalanche of mock drafts that preceded Thursday’s first round.
DeCosta admitted he grew uncomfortable with the constant talk that Baltimore was fixated on Starks, a three-year starter who did a little bit of everything for the Bulldogs.
“It was weird constantly seeing us tied to him,” DeCosta said after the conclusion of the first round. “In the end, it fell for us.”
The Ravens had plenty of options when they were on the clock at No. 27. Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons was available and the Ravens thought highly of him. So were edge rushers Mike Green (Marshall) and Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College), inside linebacker Jihaad Campbell (Alabama) and cornerback Will Johnson (Michigan). South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori, who some evaluators ranked as the top safety in the draft ahead of Starks, was still on the board.
DeCosta’s phone was ringing, too; he had options to move back and add to the 10 picks the Ravens have on Days 2 and 3 of the draft. In the end, though, it was all about Starks. The Ravens decided that the package they were going to get in trading back wasn’t as good as the player that fell in their laps.
“As we go back and look at our very best players, they are just wired a certain way,” DeCosta said. “They play a certain way consistently. Throughout the process, Malaki was a guy who just really passed every single test. Football GPA: very, very high. Production as a player. Durability. Ability. There are a lot of really good safeties (in this draft). We got the best one.”
Safety wasn’t the Ravens’ biggest need, but solidifying the defense was. The Ravens must come out of this draft with additions on all three levels of their defense. In Starks, they believe that they have a force multiplier who can line up in a multitude of spots. Head coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Zachary Orr like to talk about having a position-less defense with so many versatile pieces that opposing quarterbacks don’t know who is lining up where.
At Georgia, Starks lined up in the post, in split-field looks, in the box and in the slot. He held his own in coverage and defended well in space. He was a willing tackler, eager to step up and bring down a running back. When the ball came in his direction, he frequently caught it. He had six interceptions over three college seasons and he was a first-team All-American after two of them.
Now, he’s joining a secondary that includes safety Kyle Hamilton and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, both two-time All-Pros. The Ravens also have 2024 first-round corner Nate Wiggins and veteran cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, along with safety/nickel Ar’Darius Washington, whose insertion as a starting safety last year triggered a defensive turnaround.
“I think when you look at Malaki on tape, (you see) all the different positions he plays,” said Harbaugh. “He plays both safeties. He plays nickel. He plays the dime linebacker spot, which is what Kyle does, which is what Ar’Darius does, and then Marlon plays inside and outside, so the ability to move all those pieces around and get them in different positions is pretty exciting. The other thing is — Eric kind of just mentioned this — but when we first came out of the season, we had a conversation about just the type of mindset that we were looking for and the guys we were going to bring in, and to me, Malaki, he fits that perfectly. He’s smart. He’s tough. He loves football. He loves everything about football.”
The Ravens believe that Starks’ presence will allow Hamilton to get back to doing what he does best, which is moving around, flying to the ball and making plays. The struggles last year of veteran safeties Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson forced Hamilton to retreat into the deep safety role. Washington, who the team had used mostly in the nickel, played alongside him.
The Ravens have leaned heavily on three-safety looks in the past. Last year, they didn’t really have three safeties they trusted. Now, they have Hamilton, who can match up with wide receivers and pretty much play wherever he’s needed. Starks had a similar role at Georgia. Washington can play nickel and safety. Humphrey also has the flexibility to play both on the outside and in the slot or even at safety if need be.
“The good news is the offense isn’t going to know who’s going to be back there on any given play. Not going to be able to line up and say, ‘Okay, Kyle’s going to be deep,’ or even, ‘Ar’Darius is going to be deep,’” Harbaugh said. “All three of those guys can be on the field a lot or Marlon can go back and can play deep if we wanted him to, but really now, it’s those three guys as interchangeable parts playing any one of those four positions in there. That’s pretty exciting.”
The Ravens’ secondary now has a good mix of veterans and young players, and versatility is a common theme with many of them. Starks admitted that he had a good feel about the Ravens through the interview at the NFL Scouting Combine and in Zoom calls that followed. He knew they were a potential landing spot. Still, he had a long stay in the green room in Green Bay. Wanting to keep his mind occupied, he started playing a game of Uno. The Ravens called shortly thereafter.
“I felt like it was a really good place for me to be just with the type of organization that they run and the history they have there, as well,” Starks said. “Just the things that they’ve been doing the last few years, I think it’s a great fit for me just to come in and learn from a guy like Kyle Hamilton. There are a lot of vets in the room, like Marlon Humphrey. I think it’s amazing, and I think I fit the culture very well.”
Starks is expected to arrive at the Ravens’ facility on Friday afternoon for a news conference. After that ends, DeCosta will head upstairs, back into the team’s draft room and continue preparations for Day 2, when the Ravens have one selection in each of the second and third rounds. He’ll do it knowing that the guy they wanted all along is officially a Raven.
(Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)