Following Week 8 of the NFL season, Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus put together an early 2025 NFL mock draft, and has the Indianapolis Colts boosting the back end of their defense.
At 4-4, the Colts held the 14th overall pick in this mock draft, and made what has become a very popular pick for them, selecting Georgia safety Malaki Starks.
“They target a true ball-hawking secondary player here in Malaki Starks,” wrote Sikkema. “He’s been the best safety in college football over the past two years, though 2024 has been a bit of a down year for him.”
At 6-1 – 205 pounds, Starks is a very good athlete and can wear a variety of hats at the safety position. In his third season seeing significant playing time, Starks has played 413 snaps from the box, 990 as the free safety, and 520 from the slot.
From 2022–his first season–to 2023, Starks made significant strides in just about every area.
In 2023, his completion percentage when targeted plummeted to just 51 percent. He allowed only 11.1 yards per catch, had increased ball production and the opposing quarterbacks’ collective passer rating dipped to only 61.6. In addition to all of that, by PFF’s metrics, Starks was also one of the better run defenders at the safety position in 2023.
This season, in seven games, Starks’ completion percentage when targeted has gone up, but he’s limiting pass-catchers to a career-best 9.1 yards per catch. He’s also forced a pass breakup, one interception, along with opposing quarterbacks having a passer rating of just 65.7 when targeting him.
Starks remains a sound tackler and this season has already set a career high in quarterback pressures.
A positive on defense for the Colts this season has been the emergence of Nick Cross. However, looking ahead to 2025, safety remains a big need.
Julian Blackmon will again be a free agent, leaving Cross and Rodney Thomas as the only safeties on the current active roster that are still under contract next season.