{"id":200612,"date":"2024-11-20T11:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=200612"},"modified":"2024-11-19T19:10:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T00:10:45","slug":"2025-nfl-mock-draft-has-the-indianapolis-colts-taking-malaki-starks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/11\/20\/2025-nfl-mock-draft-has-the-indianapolis-colts-taking-malaki-starks\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 NFL Mock Draft Has the Indianapolis Colts Taking a Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NFL Draft is several months away. Yet, it\u2019s not too early to think about who the Indianapolis Colts could take with their first-round pick. Daniel Flick of si.com<\/a> put together an NFL Mock Draft recently. He has the Colts landing Georgia safety Malaki Starks in the first round (12th overall pick):<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe Colts\u2019 secondary has been a concern since training camp, and Indianapolis is home to the NFL’s sixth-worst pass defense, giving up 238 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks complete 68.9% of their attempts, fourth highest in the league. Starks makes plays from a variety of alignments and is impactful against both the run and the pass. Starks, a five-star recruit turned three-year standout, has the ball skills, athleticism and versatility to change the complexion of the Colts\u2019 defense.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Colts certainly need help at the safety position. As Flick mentioned, the secondary has been an issue since training camp. Should they select Malaki Starks in the 2025 draft?<\/p>\n

2025 NFL Mock Draft Has the Indianapolis Colts Taking Malaki Starks<\/h2>\n

Starks\u2019 Career Thus Far<\/h3>\n

Malaki Starks was a multi-sport athlete at Jefferson High School High in Jefferson, Georgia. He played quarterback and safety as a football star. He also participated in track and field.<\/p>\n

Starks, a consensus five-star recruit, stayed in Georgia to play for the Bulldogs. He would start as a true freshman, finishing third on the team in combined tackles with 68. He won a national championship in his debut season as Georgia blew out TCU 65-7<\/a>. In addition, he was a finalist for the 2022 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.<\/p>\n

As a sophomore in 2023, Starks recorded 52 tackles, three interceptions, and seven pass breakups. He was also named a consensus All-American and made first-team All-SEC.<\/p>\n

So far this season, Starks has accumulated 51 tackles (four for loss), an interception, and two pass breakups for the No. 8-ranked Bulldogs. Plus, he has returned three punts for 21 yards. Starks is considered the top safety prospect in next April\u2019s 2025 draft.<\/p>\n

Should the Colts Draft Him?<\/h3>\n

Safety is undoubtedly one of the Colts\u2019 biggest weaknesses. With that said, Malaki Starks would be a great addition to the team\u2019s struggling secondary. He\u2019s super-athletic and possesses blazing speed. The six-foot-one, 205-pounder often uses his length and speed to disrupt opposing wide receivers. Starks displays his track and field background as a run defender, running down backs and receivers weekly.<\/p>\n

Julian Blackmon<\/a>, the Colts\u2019 best safety, will become a free agent following the season. The former third-round pick tested the waters of free agency this past offseason, visiting Super Bowl contenders like the Buffalo Bills<\/a> and San Francisco 49ers<\/a>. He ultimately re-signed with the Colts<\/a> on a one-year deal.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a chance Blackmon won\u2019t return next spring and wind up signing a multi-year deal with another team. If he does leave, Starks would be an ideal replacement. He can play either safety spot and could start opposite of Nick Cross<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If Starks is available in the 2025 draft<\/a>, the Colts shouldn\u2019t hesitate to draft the star defender. He\u2019s just what the team needs.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Will McLelland – USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent 2025 NFL Mock Draft has the Indianapolis Colts selecting Georgia\u2018s Malaki Starks in the first round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":201134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,54,1647],"tags":[32605,7810,32064,32971],"class_list":["post-200612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colts","category-editorials","category-nfl-draft","tag-2025-nfl-draft","tag-indianapolis-colts-draft","tag-julian-blackmon","tag-malaki-starks"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}