The Baltimore Ravens fell short of their ultimate goals in 2024 despite winning the AFC North with a 12-5 record and knocking out their division rivals (the Pittsburgh Steelers) with a 28-14 victory in the wild-card round.
After losing to the Buffalo Bills by two points the following weekend, it became pretty clear that the Ravens are a piece or two away from being true Super Bowl contenders in a competitive conference.
Unfortunately, Baltimore has had more players leave for new teams this offseason (Chris Board, Patrick Mekari, Brandon Stephens and Kristian Welch) than players join from elsewhere (DeAndre Hopkins, Chidobe Awuzie, Cooper Rush and Jake Hummel). That doesn’t even include 11 players that spent 2024 with the Ravens who are still unsigned.
Luckily, there’s still time for Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta to add talent to the roster, and with the 2025 NFL draft right around the corner, Baltimore can bring in some young difference-makers.
On Friday, NFL.com’s Chad Reuter released a mock draft that has the Ravens trading their first-round pick (No. 27 overall) to the same Bills that knocked them out of the playoffs and taking Georgia safety Malaki Starks with Buffalo’s original first-round pick (No. 30).
Starks, 21, was a five-star football prospect at Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Georgia, before he committed to the University of Georgia for the 2022 season.
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Over the last three seasons, Starks has appeared in 43 games and has recorded 197 tackles (six for a loss), 17 passes defensed and six interceptions. He’s also won a national championship and earned All-SEC and All-American honors twice.
In 2024, Pro Football Focus gave Starks a 78.3 overall grade for his performance, which was down from the 81.1 overall grade he earned in 2023.
Baltimore currently has Ar’Darius Washington (who they used a right-of-first-refusal tender on this offseason) and Kyle Hamilton (who is entering what could be the final year of his rookie deal) as their starting safeties.
If the Ravens use a first-round pick on Starks, the defensive back would see considerable playing time as a rookie and may take over for one of them full-time, allowing Baltimore to move on and address other positions in 2026.
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