NFL Draft
12/2/24
6 min read
Malaki Starks 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Georgia Bulldogs SAF
Height: 6010 (unofficial)
Weight: 205 lbs (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Kevin Byard
Scouting Overview
Georgia Bulldogs safety Malaki Starks projects as a quality starter and potential franchise cornerstone for his NFL team. He’s been an impact player at Georgia since stepping onto the field as a true freshman in 2022, and Coach Kirby Smart’s defensive scheme will have him prepped for the nuance and detail required to be a splash player in the NFL.
The rigors of defensive coverage responsibilities will not be foreign to Starks, who has the versatility to play on either the second or third level of the defense and contribute as either a zone or man defender as needed based on coverage calls and pressure rotations. This is the best-tackling safety prospect to pass through the draft process since Brian Branch in 2023.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Supreme versatility on the back end to fulfill high post, deep half, robber, slot, or second-level assignments
- Very physical and reliable tackler who offers good angles and consistency in space as a last line of defense
- Has illustrated elite ball skills in coverage down the field while having to flip eyes back and locate the ball in flight
Negatives
- Positional value knock is one that creates a philosophical question for GMs relative to skill/ability and draft stock
- Not often asked to serve as a pressure player, leaving an incomplete element for secondary pressure-heavy schemes
- The ability to plaster routes from off-coverage is not a primary winning trait
Background
Starks (full name is William Malaki Starks) is from Jefferson, GA, and played his high school football for Jefferson HS. Starks was rated as a 5-star recruit (247 Sports) and played in the Under Armour All-American Game as the No. 1 ranked athlete in the country from his recruiting class.
Starks played on both sides of the ball, logging big numbers as a defender and offensive weapon. He is credited with 41 combined passing, rushing, and receiving touchdowns in addition to his defensive efforts. In addition to football, Starks was a state champion long jumper (23-7 with a personal best of 24-9) and ranked a 10.55s 100m in track and field while also playing basketball.
He enrolled at Georgia after choosing the Bulldogs over Clemson & Alabama and quickly assimilated into the defense as a starter. He finished third on the team in tackles while starting 14 of 15 contests for the Bulldogs en route to their second-consecutive National Championship. He has been a staple of the Georgia secondary ever since. He was named First-Team All-SEC and a consensus All-American in 2023.
Tale Of The Tape
The question for Starks is not necessarily what he can or cannot do; it is instead whether or not the versatility he affords is enough to transcend some of the traditional positional value dynamics that result in safeties sliding down draft boards despite being blue-chip talents. He is an awesome talent with no shortage of roles he’s capable of filling.
His football instincts are off the charts, and he constantly finds himself in positions to make plays on the football in coverage when quarterbacks look to take shots down the field. His ability to properly leverage multiple route landmarks and be in a position to make plays is one of his better abilities in coverage. Starks has the range to play high in the post and break on throws either across his face or outside the numbers to either side on the vertical plane.
Defenses that want to keep him more involved and play him closer to the football can successfully do so by charging him with aligning in the nickel, which Georgia has done with meaningful volume in each of his three seasons as a starter with the program. This can come out of nickel, but you could also get there with safety rotation out of base personnel to drop him from the depth and allow him to play forward in second-level zones in Cover-3 rotations from 2-high shells while inserting him into the run fit.
Starks is a supreme tackler with only a handful of missed tackle challenges in his entire career. He plays the run well as an aggressive fit player who quickly discards would-be blockers in the slot or tries to crack down and seal on his frame. Starks has very good confidence in his lateral mirror ability and his wrap-up skills. It isn’t often that you see anxious tackle posture or a poor form challenge in the open field.
When given man-to-man assignments, Starks’ sprinter speed shows up on vertical reps from the slot. He’s hauled in a number of incredible interceptions throughout his career on these opportunities. He is the rare safety in man coverage who you’d feel comfortable with leaving without vertical support overtop of him against wide receivers.
He’s more attractive in the soft press than he is playing authentically off coverage, where his hip transitions are not equal to that of a cornerback. When he can get hands-on in the contact window and become attached to receivers, he showcases the ability to disrupt the release and feel his way into the trail position to carry.
When Starks is playing off in zone coverage, his transitions laterally to trigger or downhill for routes in front of his face are bursty and sharp. Off of a flat-footed read, Starks has the necessary explosion to undercut a route and challenge the football.
Thanks to the Georgia defensive pipeline and Starks’ elite football instincts, this is an NFL-ready starter. His presence has the potential to totally shift the identity of an NFL secondary.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Starks is a scheme-transcendent talent. He can play in any defensive ideology and find success thanks to his high football acumen, tackling ability, coverage versatility, and range on the back end.
He should be considered an immediate starter and has the potential to be one of the best in the league at his position by the end of his rookie contract.
Grade: 86.50/100.00, Top 10 Overall Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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