Malaki Starks Plans To Lean on Instincts More in Year 2 With Baltimore Ravens

The vast majority of football players who make the jump from college to the NFL compare it to drinking from a firehose. That feeling is even more exacerbated for those tasked with being plug-and-play starters from Day 1 at cerebral positions, such as the position Baltimore Ravens safety Malaki Starks found himself in as a rookie last year.

As the No. 27 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the former University of Georgia standout was expected to see the field early and often in year one, but similarly to his teammate and fellow former first-rounder, Kyle Hamilton, it was supposed to be as part of a three-safety rotation.

Unfortunately, an untimely torn Achilles tendon suffered by 2024 breakout Ar'Darius Washington while conditioning during the spring shortly after Starks was drafted caused them to have to make him a full-time starter. It also resulted in them sticking with the primary split safety alignment that stabilized the defense down the stretch the year prior, but made it more static and less dynamic until they traded for veteran Alohi Gilman just five games into the season.

Despite being thrown into the deep end as an immediate starter, Starks kept his head above water and had a very solid season. He started 15 of 17 games, played 94% of the Ravens' total defensive snaps and finished with 84 total tackles, including 49 solos and one for a loss, a quarterback hit, four passes defensed and two interceptions.

Back-to-back games with an INT for Malaki Starks! 🐦‍⬛

BALvsMIN on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/jLTSAfuVx8
— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025

In a recent appearance on NFL Network's 'The Insiders', Starks was asked about a myriad of topics during a five-minute segment, and one of the most illuminating takeaways was how much a difference a year makes in the pros.

Just this past year alone, he went through the pre-draft process, played his first year in the league on a team that fell well short of its preseason Super Bowl favorite hype and he got married to his long-time girlfriend, just to name a few major life developments.

“I have a new starting plate,” Starks said. “You go from year one to year two, and year one is a lot of stuff, inside of football and outside of football. But I think being able to have a year under my belt, really in Baltimore, learning the city, learning what it means to truly be in the NFL, I think I feel so much better and I feel like I’m back to myself is where I want to be and that’s where I’m getting.”

The second-year pro plans on playing more instinctually and trusting himself more to make the impactful plays he knows he is capable of, and who the Ravens brought him in to add to their defense.

“Football is a simple game if you make it simple,” Starks said. “Last year I thought a lot, instead of just going out there and playing.”

There is no shortage of talent around him at all three levels, from front to back and especially in the secondary alongside him, where he gets to play with a pair of multi-time Pro Bowlers and All Pro selections in Hamilton and cornerback Marlon Humphrey.

This offseason, the Ravens also went out and added 2025 breakout veteran defensive back Jaylinn Hawkins to replace Gilman as the new third safety. His presence will add more versatility to the rotation and make them interchangeable pieces that won’t tip their hand with disguised coverages or simulated pressure on any given down.

“I’m surrounded by a group of elite guys,” Starks said. “Just going out there and truly being myself and feeling free, I think that's the biggest thing.”

Through two weeks of the Ravens Organized Team Activities, where they are allowed to hit the field for the first time in an official football capacity and not just conditioning, he is already experiencing more freedom than he felt all of last year. This has him excited for what the future holds under new head coach and defensive guru, Jesse Minter.

“It’s been great,” Starks said. “The positive energy, the competitiveness that he brings, the leadership that he brings, he’s such a great leader and so smart (and) defensive-minded. I think to just be able to learn from him and the guys that he’s brought in as well, I think it’s been awesome just to see how he operates with things and does things a little differently.”

Last week, franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson made his first public comments since the end of last season and called the arrival of Minter and his staff “a breath of fresh air,” and Starks echoed similar sentiments.

“The energy he has, it spread through the building,” Starks said. “When you drive in the gate, you’re super excited just to be here for the day, so I think that’s super exciting.”

Minter has an extensive background and specialization in coaching defensive backs. Pair that with the hiring of renowned college defensive backs coach Mike Mickens as well as his long-time friend, P.J Volker, as the new safeties coach, Starks is poised to be one of, if not the biggest beneficiary of Ravens regime change since he’s still making a name for himself in the NFL while players like Hamilton and Hawkins are already established.

Starks hints at potential shift in focal points of Ravens new offense

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devontez Walker (81) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. — Jan 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devontez Walker (81) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

As a member of the starting defense, the second-year pro has not only a front row seat to what Baltimore's new scheme will look like on the other side of the ball under first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, but he gets to go against it in practice.

Without divulging any specifics when it comes to personnel packages and formational alignments, Starks did provide some breadcrumbs that could suggest that the Ravens could be going from a more tight-end-centric passing attack to one that features the wide receiver position more moving forward.

“I think we have a super explosive offense,” Starks said. “I think the key thing is I think they’re finding ways to get the guys who can be the most explosive ball, and I get to go against it every day, so it makes me better.”

While the Ravens are returning three-time Pro Bowl veteran tight end Mark Andrews and added a pair of athletic rookies in the 2026 NFL Draft who can stretch the seam and do some damage after the catch, there's no denying that the "most explosive" skill position group on offense is the wideouts now.

It starts with two-time Pro Bowler Zay Flowers, who is both electric and elusive in the open field with the ball in his hands in space and can threaten defenses at every level. Although veteran Rashod Bateman is coming off a down year in 2025, he is only a season removed from averaging 16.8 yards per catch and seems better suited for this type of modern offense.

One player who has flashed explosive playmaking ability in very limited opportunities the past couple of seasons is third-year pro Devontez Walker, who averages 22.4 yards per catch and has scored a touchdown on four of his seven career receptions. The Ravens also drafted a pair of rookies who specialized in contested catches in college but are already showing they are capable of more in Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt.

Even though the Ravens are still in the early stages of installing their new system under Doyle, it’s already shaping into the type of unit that Starks doesn’t envy the team’s future opponents for having to face on Sundays starting this fall.

“I’m super excited just to see them and what they’re capable of,” Starks said.

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