Georgia Safety Malaki Starks Impresses at NFL Combine, Sets Top Speed in Five Different Drills

CINCINNATI — Georgia safety Malaki Starks impressed at the 2025 NFL Combine on Friday night.

The former Bulldog recorded the fastest top speed among safeties in five different drills according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Starks hit 15.24 mph during the short shuttle, 17.92 mph during the wave drill, 18.39 mph during the gauntlet drill, 18.66 mph during the line drill and 18.74 mph during the Teryl Austin drill.

He ran a 4.50 40-yard dash and likely solidified himself as the top safety in this year's draft class.

The Bengals met with Starks in Indianapolis this week. He could be a real contender to be the 17th overall pick. He entered the week ranked 14th on Dane Brugler's big board.

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein is also high on the Georgia product.

"Three-year starter with reams of high-leverage games on his résumé. Starks is a versatile safety with the size and athleticism to eliminate contested catches and the speed and ball skills to shine when the action travels deep," Zierlein wrote. "Connection to the route is inconsistent in man and he’s baited out of position by misdirection, but better discipline and anticipation should clean that up. He’s not a true force player near the line and his pursuit angles can be raggedy but he gets guys down when he’s in position. Starks has feast-or-famine moments on tape but he figures to test well and star in team interviews. He is a future starter as a movable back-end piece whose consistency will determine his floor/ceiling."

The back end of the Bengals' defense has struggled since Jesse Bates left in free agency following the 2022 season. Adding a player like Starks may solve their issues.

What are the Bengals looking for at safety?

“You've got to be a great communicator. You've got to be a great tackler," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. "Love guys with range that can cover so that you can make those guys interchangeable. But I'd say if you've got two things that you've got to be able to do, they've got to be able to tackle in space, and they've got to be a great communicator.”

Starks has played in plenty of big games. Don't be shocked if they go back to their Georgia connection in this year's draft—especially with so many talented Bulldogs in this year's class.

Check out Starks' top speed in all five drills and video from his combine workout below:

Georgia safety Malaki Starks recorded the fastest top speed among safeties in five different drills.

🥇 Short Shuttle: 15.24 mph
🥇 W Drill: 17.92 mph
🥇 Gauntlet Drill: 18.39 mph
🥇 Line Drill: 18.66 mph
🥇 Teryl Austin Drill: 18.74 mph

📊: https://t.co/p64vRez1Gn pic.twitter.com/ZC0UQ9ezoI
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 1, 2025

Malaki Starks backpedal and 45 degree break pic.twitter.com/EHxXrWrIvP
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) February 28, 2025

Malaki Starks has looked very good in the drills. Hit 20 mph top speed on this rep per NGS pic.twitter.com/eXD6dABOP7
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) February 28, 2025

I’m standing 20 feet from Malaki Starks while he’s running these drills and I still can’t hear his feet.

He’s like a cat. Just unreal.
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) February 28, 2025

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