Buccaneers NFL Draft Target: S Malaki Starks

Might the Bucs search for Antoine Winfield, Jr.’s running mate?

The Buccaneers endured crippling injuries throughout their entire secondary in 2024, which both exposed lack of depth and created an open starting spot once again.

Jordan Whitehead returned on a 2-year deal but played ineffectively and then sustained serious injuries in a car accident, which led to his release and unlikely return. While it’s sad to see him go (again), the Bucs will be on a lookout for another partner for Antoine Winfield, Jr., who will hope to rebound after struggling through several ailments of his own.

If the Bucs consider a secondary upgrade crucial enough to spend a first-rounder in the 2025 NFL Draft, Malaki Starks will likely top the list as a prospect. Let’s dig more into the talented playmaker from the University of Georgia.

MALAKI STARKS’S COLLEGIATE CAREER

Starks began his collegiate career as one of the most highly touted prospects in the nation.

A consensus 5-star recruit and top-15 prospect nationally in 2022, Starks fielded offers from several P5 programs but settled on his local Georgia Bulldogs. He rifled onto the scene immediately by starting as a true freshman on a National Championship-winning squad, totaling 68 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 7 pass breakups.

His sophomore year saw him ascend to greater heights by earning consensus first-team All-American and All-SEC honors, as well as finishing as a finalist for both the Bronko Nagurski and Jim Thorpe awards. He recorded 52 tackles, 3 interceptions, 7 pass breakups.

Starks saw a slight regression in 2024 with more uneven play, recording lows in interceptions (1) and PBUs (3) but still managed to lead the team in tackles (77) and make second-team All-American and All-SEC before declaring early for the NFL Draft.

PRO DAY AND SCOUTING COMBINE

Starks, who measured at 6-foot-1 and 197 pounds, produced a mixed bag of results at both the NFL Scouting Combine and his Georgia Pro Day on March 12.

The combine saw him tally some really strong speed numbers, with a great 40 time (4.5 flat) and 10-yard split (1.56). These were cemented with his measured MPH in the on-field drills, which all ranked first among attendees for defensive backs.

However, Starks produced poor agility testing (7.26 3-cone and 4.45 short shuttle) and a bad vertical jump result (just 33”), which could be concerning. His lateral stiffness does show up on tape with struggles to stay connected in man coverage.

That said, the straight-line speed will play at the pro level and he’s very intelligent and skilled at the nuances of the safety position, which came through in drills he did at the Combine and Pro Day that received widespread acclaim.

The Bucs typically shy away from non-elite athletes in the first round, so that could compromise Starks’ chances of ending up in Tampa, but he’s not terribly worse in RAS than Winfield Jr., who recorded a 7.81 (just “good”) with the benefit of no agility testing,

WHAT STARKS CAN DO FOR THE BUCS IN 2025

If Starks is getting drafted by the Bucs, it will come with the expectation of being a starter right away.

Starks comes from a blue blood defensive pipeline with the football smarts and sufficient athleticism to be a cornerstone as soon as this year. He routinely displayed the ability to play deep single-high, split-safety, nickel, and down in the box, which would play exactly into what Todd Bowles loves in his defensive backs.

Bowles likely has plenty of familiarity with Starks already since the Bucs took his teammate, Tykee Smith, in the 2024 draft. Smith immediately blossomed and was one of the few bright spots for a battered Bucs secondary. Bowles’s son Troy also attended Georgia so that’s another added layer of familiarity.

Starks’s combination of size, speed, and physicality leads to several plays on the ball, where his production really shined over three years (6 total interceptions, 17 PBUs). Given that “ballhawk” has been one of the biggest buzzwords of the offseason so far, that will definitely check a box. He’s an excellent tackler and twitchy box defender who can be relied upon in run support.

Being able to confidently mix Winfield, Smith, Starks and other parts of the defense from a variety of looks would massively benefit the entire defense.

THREE-YEAR OUTLOOK

The outlook should be bright for Starks.

Several players of his archetype have consistently succeeded at the pro level, like Winfield Jr., Xavier McKinney and Jessie Bates. If you’re going to bet on someone with “average” athleticism, safety is the position to do it when the other traits shine so brightly and consistently.

Starks could easily establish a floor as a good starter right away and rapidly ascend into an impact asset at his position by his third or fourth year, with any luck. If there’s one thing that can be said about the Bucs defense, it’s that safety is very often one of its greatest strengths. Starks would be in an optimal position to succeed here.

STOCK REPORT

Starks has been widely heralded as a top-20 player for years now, though the process has seen projections occasionally slip into the second round – mainly due to that subpar athletic testing.

Given safety’s depressed value relative to other positions, it seems very likely Starks will be available in the 15-20 range and quite possibly beyond, which would mirror the draft positions of those other aforementioned elite safeties (all second-rounders).

Bleacher Report’s Cory Giddings projects Starks as an immediate impact player and bonafide first-rounder, as does The 33rd Team’s Kyle Crabbs.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein is less bullish, ranking Starks as his fourth-best safety behind South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori, Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts, and Oklahoma State’s Billy Bowman Jr.

ON THE CLOCK…

What say you, Bucs Nation? Would you like to see Starks in red and pewter tandeming with Winfield Jr?

Discuss in the comments and vote in the poll below!