ESPN’s Jordan Reid put together an early 2025 NFL mock draft and in the first round he has the Indianapolis Colts moving up several spots to bolster the back-end of their defense.
At 3-3, the Colts would currently hold the 20th overall pick in the upcoming draft. However, Reid had Indianapolis jumping up to pick 14 in a trade with Seattle.
To get there, Reid had the Colts trading pick No. 20, a third rounder and sixth rounder to Seattle in return for the 14th overall pick and a seventh round selection.
And with that pick, the Colts selected Georgia safety Malaki Starks–a popular early selection for Indianapolis in a number of mock drafts.
Reid would call Starks “far and away” the best safety in the 2025 class, adding that the “prospect-to-team pairing is perfect.”
Starks stands 6-1 and weighs 205 pounds. He’s a very good athlete who can wear a lot of hats on the back end of a defense. Most of his snaps at Georgia have come at free safety, but he’s also played 399 snaps from the box and 501 in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus.
Starks has been a very sound tackler throughout his career and took a big jump from 2022 to 2023, improving fairly significantly in many statistical categories.
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.
Through seven games this season, Starks has forced three pressures as a blitzer, continues to be a reliable tackler, and has a pass breakup and an interception in coverage while allowing just 10.7 yards per catch. In the run game, Starks again is one of PFF’s higher graded safeties.
“Starks is instinctive on the back end and a dependable tackler in run support,” wrote Jordan Reid. “Sure, safeties have become somewhat devalued, but Starks is an outlier who is worthy of a top-15 pick. He has six career interceptions and is on track for his third straight season with more than 55 tackles.”
A positive on the defensive side of the ball this season for the Colts has been the emergence and play of Nick Cross. However, even with that taking place, safety remains a major need in 2025.
Julian Blackmon will again be a free agent, leaving Indianapolis with Cross and Rodney Thomas as the only safeties on the current 53-man roster who are still under contract next season. Trevor Denbow–a special teams player–is also a free agent.