Film room: Malaki Starks; safety, slot corner, all-around quality defensive back

With a need at safety, could the Georgia product be the Raiders’ answer?

With Tre’von Moehrig, Marcus Epps and Isaiah Pola-Mao being free agents, the Las Vegas Raiders will likely be a big player in the safety market this offseason. One potential solution is Georgia safety Malaki Starks, who is widely considered the top prospect at the position in the 2025 NFL Draft class.

While Starks may not be a great option with the sixth overall pick of the draft, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur posed an interesting scenario in a recent mock draft where the Raiders traded back to the 12th selection and took the former Bulldog. That would allow Las Vegas to gain extra draft capital to address other holes on the roster and give the defense an immediate starter in the secondary.

Starks would also be a good fit in Patrick Graham’s defense as he can lineup at multiple spots and contribute to both phases of the game. Over the last two seasons, he earned 78.3 and 72.1 coverage grades from Pro Football Focus, respectively, and also posted marks of 84.8 and 85.6 as a run defender.

So, let’s dive into what the Georgia product could bring to the Silver and Black.

Similar to 2024 Pro Bowler Brian Branch from the Detroit Lions, Starks is impressive in man coverage when covering the slot. That’s where both players stand out the most in coverage, either by staying in phase to take options away from the quarterback or by making plays on the ball.

As seen in a handful of the reps above, Starks is pretty good at covering slot fade routes. He’s patient to avoid opening his hips too early, especially in press coverage, and has the speed to carry receivers down the field or recover if he does fall out of phase.

Also, his football IQ/route recognition is impressive in this area as he finds and stays attached to his man against bunch sets and switch releases from the offense. That helps Starks be effective when playing zone match coverages, which have become more popular in the NFL recently and is, at a high level, essentially man coverage with more rules.

The Georgia product racked up 16 defensive stops (tackles that result in a “failure” for the offense) in coverage over the last two seasons, per PFF. The two primary reasons for that are he accelerates well when coming downhill to reduce the space between himself and the receiver, and he’s a quality open-field tackler.

The best example of Starks’ ability to close in coverage from the clips above is the second one against Texas. Initially, he stays deep in his zone to help take away the out route past the sticks. Then, when the quarterback checks the ball down, he quickly triggers downhill and makes a great form tackle with some force for a one-yard gain.

So, he managed to cover over 10 yards in a hurry to set up third and long while keeping the offense out of field goal range.

To be clear, Starks is still growing as a run defender when playing in the box. He’s gotten better at taking on blocks but could afford to use his athleticism to make offensive linemen and tight ends miss or slip blocks more frequently.

But he doesn’t shy away from this part of the game and is willing to get involved in run fits. That allows him to make quality tackles near the line of scrimmage when unblocked either via blitzes or when the defense has a numbers advantage.

When lined up at the former Bulldog’s more natural position of free safety, his speed gives him impressive lateral/sideline-to-sideline range or allows him to come from depth and make tackles near the line of scrimmage. Also, he does a good job of crashing downhill but knowing when to pull up to avoid getting caught in the trash.

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Positional value is a factor when it comes to drafting safeties in the first round. For example, Starks’ game is similar to Branch’s, and Branch has been an excellent NFL player over the last two years but was taken with a mid-second-round pick. So, that’s something to consider when drafting Starks.

However, if a trade-back scenario is on the table like the one Tafur posed above, filling one of the Raiders’ biggest needs while acquiring more draft capital would be hard to pass up. Especially since Starks is an impressive talent who could be an immediate starter.