OTL: Ravens Add Smart, Versatile Safety in Malaki Starks

Another first round of the NFL Draft has come and gone with the Ravens doing what they do best, waiting for the board to fall to them and getting their best player available:

Knee-Jerk Reactions: Ravens Select Georgia S Malaki Starks

The Ravens got, to me, the best safety in the class and a true playmaker on the back end. Starks is such a good player. Back in Combine season, when Nick Emannwori was getting hyped up as the number one safety thanks to a good workout, many of us who follow the draft raised our eyebrows. Starks was always the best safety in this class. While he did have a down Junior year compared to his Sophomore season, I will chalk that up to Georgia throwing a ton more at him in an effort to push their defense to the limit, and he lost a bit of himself in that role.

While Starks is versatile, his primary role here is simple: play deep and allow his teammates to be at their best:

Starks’s best role is as the guy who plays that deep Free Safety role. With Washington and Kyle Hamilton returning to that safety role, this completes the secondary.

While Starks is at his best deep, he can also play the slot, blitz, and do the fun things that Hamilton can do – just not as well.

This pick is so good, man.

While I get the concerns on the trenches, unfortunately, the board didn’t fall correctly for those wanting an offensive lineman, and the defensive players all had some kind of concerns.

Look, Mike Green was never going to be a Raven (Google him if you don’t know why). With everything going on with Justin Tucker, there was no way the Ravens could take that chance on him, and the other 30 teams (Miami didn’t have a pick), so far, agree about Green.

Not only that, but there is still plenty of time to get more trench help. Trust me, edge folks: I hear you, and I want one soon too! But Starks had to be the pick here.

Even if I disagree with some that Starks was the best possible pick, he is definitely a safe pick. He brings versatility, allowing Zach Orr and Chuck Pagano to unleash Hamilton. Remember, they had to play Hamilton at free safety last year because they were so desperate for good deep CF play – this pick addresses all that.

From listening to Starks speak, and reports like this:

…he seems like a guy who understands and loves football.

Starks is another A+ pick for EDC and the company. Don’t let your stress about the trenches get in the way of that fact. Let’s see what the next six rounds bring!

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