Why Malaki Starks Makes No Sense For The Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to add to their secondary in the NFL draft. They are potentially in the market for a starting cornerback and a starting safety. At the very least, the team will be looking for depth players who could compete for the job and take over in a year or two.

Fortunately for them, this draft provides a deep talent pool at these positions. Corner specifically is one of the deepest positions in this class and safety brings quality options in both the first and second round. If the Bucs go in this direction early then it would come as no surprise.

However, some players would come as more of a shock than others. There is no denying that the Bucs have a profile that they’re looking for. So if a player doesn’t fit that profile, even if that player is very talented, we can expect Jason Licht to stay away.

One such player is Georgia safety Malaki Starks. In a vacuum, Starks is one of the 10-15 best players in the draft. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t fit the profile of what the Buccaneers have looked for over the last decade.

That’s not to say that it’s 100% certain that Tampa won’t draft him. After all, if you believe in drafting the best player available then Starks would be a prime option at pick 19. With that said, I’d be willing to bet that the Buccaneers will not draft Malaki Starks. Here’s why.

Athletic Profile 

Jason Licht has a long established track record when it comes to athletic profile. Specifically, a player needs to be in the 90th percentile of athlete relative to their position. This is also known as their Relative Athletic Score (RAS).

For reference, Licht hasn’t drafted a player with his first pick who fell below this threshold since he drafted Jameis Winston in 2015. That’s nearly a decade long trend since then. There is no reason to believe that will change this year.

Unfortunately, Starks falls well below that number. He only achieved a 5.2 RAS which means he’s in the 52nd percentile of NFL athletes at his position. This is incredibly average and well below the Bucs threshold.

Ball Skills

A point of emphasis this offseason from both Jason Licht and Todd Bowles has been takeaways. With the Buccaneers only forcing Devin interceptions last season, it’s easy to understand why they would want to improve. Players who get their hands on the football will be a high priority.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t really describe Starks. In his three years at Georgia, Starks only recorded six interceptions including just one last season. In fact, he only deflected three total passes last year. 

This is a player who just didn’t get his hands on the football very often. Part of that is a reflection of his own impressive cover skills and quarterbacks avoiding him when possible. However, it’s also a reflection that this isn’t a single high ballhawk that the Bucs are looking for.

Team Fit

This brings us to the question of what the Bucs want their safety to do. In recent years we have seen a clear shift from press man coverage to more zone defense. So it’s logical that any safety that the Bucs draft will continue with this shift.

Starks is as good of a man to man coverage safety as you’ll find. He absolutely blankets pass catchers; so much so that I almost believe that he could play outside corner. This is a huge part of why he’s widely viewed as a top 10-15 player in the draft.

And while Starks isn’t a liability in zone coverage by any means, this isn’t his strength. When it comes to ball skills and instincts in zone coverage, there are simply better options. It’s more likely that the Buccaneers look in one of those directions later in the draft.

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