Malaki Starks’ start to the season has gone from disappointing to downright alarming, and Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints only turned up the heat.
The Baltimore Ravens did not have many players who came out of Week 2 looking good, but Starks stood out for the wrong reasons. The second-year safety missed tackles, lost track of assignments, and looked out of place far too often. One play in particular summed it up: he wound up caught in no man’s land and gave up a touchdown to Chris Olave.
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That breakdown mattered because the Ravens’ defense unraveled in the fourth quarter of a one-score game, and Starks’ struggles were a big part of why the back end could not hold up. He was not the only issue, of course.
Poor coaching, shaky offensive line play, and inconsistent pressure all played their part. Even so, Starks’ mistakes were impossible to miss.
The numbers match the eye test. Starks owns a 33.8 PFF coverage grade, which sits 82nd out of 84 qualifying safeties.
He has been on the field for every snap this season, but the production has not come close to matching that workload. At some point, the Ravens have to ask what his role should look like now, not just down the road.
That is a tough conversation for a player who entered the year with real optimism around him. His rookie season offered enough to dream on, including two interceptions and flashes of ball-hawking ability.
But even then, he was not consistently strong in coverage or as the player responsible for cleaning up the back end. So far this season, those issues have only become more obvious under Jesse Minter’s system.
The biggest concern is the mental side. A safety can survive some growing pains, but repeated lapses in judgment are another matter. Right now, Starks looks like a liability, and that puts his long-term upside in question if the mistakes keep piling up.
The Ravens are not in a position to wait around forever. With Super Bowl aspirations, they need dependable play now. Starks has become the weak link in the defense, and opponents are likely to target him until he proves they should not.
Benching him entirely would not be realistic after he has played every snap, but a reduced role is at least worth discussing. Baltimore has a possible solution in Kyle Hamilton, the team’s most versatile defender.
He is currently being used in a flexible DB role, but the Ravens could consider moving him to the back end to steady things there, or even adjusting Jaylinn Hawkins’ role. There would be risks either way, but if Hamilton can help stabilize a struggling pass defense, it is a move worth exploring.
The Ravens already made a similar shift in 2024, and Hamilton helped change the feel of a defense that needed help. That kind of adjustment may not happen immediately, but if Starks keeps struggling, the pressure to make a change will only grow.
For now, the bigger picture is clear: after two weeks, there is plenty of doubt about Starks’ impact and his ceiling.
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For a team that leans on tight ends as part of its passing structure, the early drop-off is hard to ignore. Late-round rookies are not expected to carry much of the load right away, but the Ravens need more from Hibner and Cuevas if they want the depth of that unit to match the rest of the offense. [Read more 🡒]
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The Ravens entered the season believing their secondary would help define the defense, but the first two weeks have raised some early questions in coverage. Recent issues against the Saints put a spotlight on a unit that was supposed to be a strength, and rookie head coach Jesse Minter has already emphasized the need for cleaner play on the back end as Baltimore tries to settle things down.
Malaki Starks is a big part of that picture in his second season, and the Ravens are counting on him to respond after a rough stretch. The concern is not just individual execution but how Baltimores frequent nickel and dime looks have held up against offenses willing to challenge them underneath and downfield, a problem that could matter in a hurry with the Cowboys next on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Trenton Simpson Just Created A Ravens Linebacker Problem
Trenton Simpsons Week 2 showing gave the Ravens a much-needed spark at linebacker and, just as importantly, a new decision to make. After drawing praise from defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Simpson looked far more comfortable on the field, finishing with six tackles, including one for loss, while also flashing as a pass-rusher and earning a strong Pro Football Focus grade.
For a Baltimore defense that has been searching for answers in the middle, Simpsons improvement changed the tone of the conversation around the position. The question now is whether that performance was enough to keep him in the starting mix once Teddye Buchanan comes back from injury, because the Ravens suddenly have more to weigh there than they did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]