Ravens First Rounder Received Rare Perfect Score During Pre-Draft Process

The annual NFL Scouting Combine is informally and sometimes comically referred to as the 'Underwear Olympics' because prospects are put through a series of athletic tests and on-field drills while wearing tight-fitting outfits made of breathable materials.

However, it isn't just about who can run the fastest 40-yard dash times or who looked the smoothest in wave drills. The medical checks and one-on-one team interviews that the prospects have with scouts, executives and coaches carry a lot of weight if not more than their performance in non-football-related activities without pads on.

Former standout Georgia safety Malaki Starks became the newest member Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night when he was selected No. 27 overall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

In the post-draft press conference when talking to reporters about what led them to make the pick, general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh recalled how blown away they were by the former First Team All American during a 15-minute interview with them at this year's Combine back in late February.

"I just think it was remarkable the way that he [Malaki Starks] could discuss football, his awareness, his ability to call out the plays from their defense before we even show the plays, just based on formation," DeCosta said. "His ability to dissect and talk about what happened at any given play and to know what his teammates were doing on any given play.

"It was like he was a coach, and when he got up, we were all kind of looking at each other, and we use a grading scale. We grade every interview, and a seven is the best, and across the board, he got straight sevens. So, it was just super impressive. I haven't seen that type of detail in a long time."

Safety is one of the positions in football where being cerebral is just as and often more important than being athletic. Film study and instincts can put a player in the right position to either make a play or prevent one from being made by the opposing team. Those are some of the qualities that made franchise legend, Ed Reed, a Hall of Famer at the position and they are what Starks showcased both on tape and when talking to the team throughout the pre-draft process.

"He knew the defense, but just the fact that he was a 'Red Star' guy kind of tells the story," Harbaugh added. "You guys have heard that in here, and you look at the board, and there he is with a red star sitting next to his name, and then the room, the way the scouts felt about him once we picked him, they were jacked. They know this guy better than anybody."

According to DeCosta, the former SEC star "checked every single box" in a multitude of ways and was "by far the best guy available" when the Ravens were on the clock. He also shared that they believe they landed the best safety in a class filled with "really good" options.

“@StarksMalaki just really passed every single test... It just made a lot of sense for us to take him.” pic.twitter.com/sb13m0fYIg
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 25, 2025

"Throughout the process, Malaki was a guy that just really passed every single test," DeCosta said. "As far as football GPA – [his was] very, very high – [his] production as a player, durability, ability, everything really, it just made a lot of sense for us to take him."

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