NFL Draft expert believes potential Bengals target is being severely undervalued, which could absolutely play in their favor
If a short list were to be made of likely first-round picks the Cincinnati Bengals could make in this year's NFL Draft, Georgia safety Malaki Starks would be on it.The Bengals will be open to drafting a free safety to upgrade over Geno Stone and met with Starks during the NFL Scouting Combine. He checks […]
If a short list were to be made of likely first-round picks the Cincinnati Bengals could make in this year's NFL Draft, Georgia safety Malaki Starks would be on it.
The Bengals will be open to drafting a free safety to upgrade over Geno Stone and met with Starks during the NFL Scouting Combine. He checks pretty much every box Cincinnati looks for. He's a 21-year old former five-star recruit who played at a major college program and took part in the College Football Playoff. That describes four of the last six first-round picks the team has made, with top-five picks Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase being slight exceptions.
Starks looks great on paper, so why would he be expected to remain on the board for the Bengals to draft at 17th overall? He may just be a victim of overthinking from the masses.
A to Z Sports draft analyst Ryan Roberts listed Starks as one of the handful of prospects who are suffering from prospect fatigue heading into the home stretch of April. Roberts also added that Starks wasn't used properly in his last year with the Bulldogs, which could attribute to the current perception surrounding him.
Georgia really did Starks a huge disservice in 2024. He is a safety that excels at making plays from depth, and they decided to make him play the majority of the time from the slot. When used properly, Starks is one of the five best players in the entire class. Even with the uneven play this past season, I am still betting on this combination of range, ball skills, and versatility. Starks is still the top safety in this class. – A to Z Sports' Ryan Roberts
Starks played 192 more snaps last year compared to 2023 and saw an increase of 62 reps in the box and 94 in the slot relative to that year. His ball production suffered as a result, which backs up Roberts' observation when watching the tape.
Had Starks been draft-eligible last year, opinions on him may be much higher after his best season in college. If he's still capable of being that player, and there's no valid reason to believe he can't be, then he could end up being a terrific value pick for the Bengals.
Cincinnati snagged Starks' former teammate Amarius Mims with the 18th overall pick in last year's draft. Mims was available mainly due to his injury history and lack of playing time for Georgia, and the Bengals claimed the young offensive tackle wouldn't have lasted that long if those red flags didn't exist.
It wasn't Mims who created those flags with his play, much like Starks isn't at fault for being undervalued now.
If Starks is still on the board after 16 picks were made, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see the Bengals go back to Athens and grab their free safety of the future using similar logic from a year ago.