From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Georgia S Malaki Starks.
No. 24 Malaki Starks/S Georgia – 6-1, 205 pounds (Junior)
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Malaki Starks | 6-1/205 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
The Good
– Great ball skills, makes tough catches and forces turnovers
– Takes on blocks aggressively and with urgency
– Great frame with 79th-percentile height and 72nd-percentile weight
– Shows leadership on the field, vocal leader and making calls
– Plays man coverage at a high level
– Solid tackler and run defender
– Great in zone and in pass offs from other defenders to occupy multiple receivers at once
The Bad
– Had a worse 2024 season than 2023, with career lows in interceptions (one) and pass deflections (three) along with a career-high seven missed tackles and an 8.1-percent missed-tackle rate.
– Tends to be a step late to getting to his spot, perhaps due to thinking too much and wasted movement
– Plays with average straight-line speed
– Struggles to shed blocks when the player gets his hands on him
– Tends to allow at least a step of separation, which can be taken advantage of by great quarterbacks
Bio
– 21 years old (November 13, 2003)
– 43 games played for Georgia from 2022-24
– 197 tackles, six interceptions, 17 pass deflections, and six tackles for loss in his college career
– 77 tackles, one interception, three pass deflections, and four tackles for loss in 2024
– 2023 shoulder injury; had surgery to repair a torn labrum after the season
– Five-star athlete in his 2022 high school class from Jefferson, Ga.
– Full name is William Malaki Starks
– Was the fourth-overall player in 2022 recruiting class only behind Travis Hunter, Walter Nolen, and Drew Allar
– Led Georgia’s defense in total snaps played as a freshman and was second in tackles (68)
– Helped his high school win a championship in track and field as a freshman
– 2022 national champion and 2023 consensus All-American
Tape Breakdown
The first thing that stands out is Malaki Starks’ ability to make a play on the ball. Here, Starks is working in man coverage against the No. 2 receiver at the top of the play. He allows a slight step to the receiver but, for the most part, is able to keep up. The ball is slightly underthrown, which causes the receiver to slow down and allows Starks to be in a better position. That is when Starks makes quite possibly the best play of his college career: a 360-degree flying catch, his body fully extended to haul in the interception.
— Steven (@Elspedd) February 10, 2025
Similar to the last play, this one goes back to the 2022 season against a borderline top 10-ranked Oregon Ducks team. Starks is in zone on this play and picks up a receiver streaking down the field. Starks has great positioning on this play and is able to make the play on the ball while falling backwards. Once again he shows off the full body-extension catch here as well.
— Steven (@Elspedd) February 10, 2025
Later in that same game against Oregon, Starks is working against a tight end in man coverage. He shows off his physicality against the 6-6, 230 pounder. Though for a second at the top of the route there is a step of separation, Starks is able to recover and essentially run the route for the tight end. Being in this position, it would have been better seeing Starks come away with the turnover, but it was still a great play regardless. That is now two plays I selected from one game in Starks’ stellar freshman season. Showing the impact he made on a national championship-winning team out of the gate.
— Steven (@Elspedd) February 10, 2025
As a run defender, Starks is very dependable. You know what you are getting out of him in that department. He has shown to be a secure tackler and at Georgia he only missed 6.9 percent of tackles. He has very good instincts for the run. Plays like this where he will play gaps before shooting toward the sideline and beating the back to the edge is what teams want to see in a safety who may play in the box. I would like to see more of a pop on his tackles since he usually will allow the runner to fall forward.
— Steven (@Elspedd) February 10, 2025
This was one of the plays I wanted to highlight from Starks’ 2024 season because it shows him being one step behind, which honestly felt like a theme for a lot of his film. Last second you can see him moving over to the right side of the play. He then sees the snap and immediately reads run. After faking the handoff, Jalen Milroe is able to tuck it and dart toward the sideline where he beats Starks to the edge. Starks attempts to make a diving tackle on Milroe but falls short. In a situation like this, you want Starks to play more passively as being the farthest outside defender and the safety of the defense. His role is supposed to be containing in this situation or taking the running back if he bounces the hypothetical run outside. In a league where you may be playing against Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels or another superhuman athlete, this is a mistake that cannot be afforded.
— Steven (@Elspedd) February 10, 2025
Conclusion
Malaki Starks is potentially the best safety in this draft class. He shows consistency in every aspect of his game. That allows NFL general managers to be confident in drafting him because he has a safe floor. He’s good in coverage and has great ball skills to make some improbable catches. As a run defender, he is safe and reliable. All of this has been the case since Starks was in high school, which is the reason he was a five-star prospect in his 2022 class. However, I think the part drawing me most toward his game is how much of a vocal leader he appears to be on the field along with everything else.
It was the same thing that made me really like Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin in last year’s class. Having vocal leaders who make sure people are in the right spots and calling out whatever they see is never a negative. Along with the vocal communication, there is also a lot more similarities in their games. They both came in at the same weight with Nubin being very slightly taller and both have very solid floors. Starks is the better of the two and will consequently go earlier in the draft than Nubin did. Starks projects to be a mid to late Day 1 pick and I think that is a solid range for him. I would feel more comfortable with a late Day 1 pick to early Day 2 just due to the slight drop-off in production in 2024. That being said, there is no doubt a team will welcome Starks with open arms come April because he is just a really good football player.
Projection: Mid-Late Day 1 pick
Depot Draft Grade: 8.6 – First round (Year 1 Quality Starter)
Games Watched: Alabama (2024), Clemson (2024), South Carolina (2023), Florida (2023), Oregon (2022)
