When it comes to having to play immediately upon matriculating from one level of football to the next, Baltimore Ravens first-round rookie safety Malaki Starks is no stranger to the challenge that comes with having high expectations to live up to. As an 18-year-old true freshman in 2022, he was instantly inserted into the starting defense of the reigning national champion University of Georgia Bulldogs. When the Ravens used their first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft to bring the former First Team All-American to Baltimore, he was set to be part of a lethal safety trio along with two-time Pro Bowler and All Pro Kyle Hamilton as well as 2024 breakout Ar’Darius Washington. This means that Starks once again finds himself in familiar circumstances, needing to play a full-time starting role right away, early on in his career at the highest level of the sport, but he wouldn’t have it any other way, minus the injury to his new teammate.