I have never been more all-in on the Baltimore Ravens entering a season than I am right now. While John Harbaugh is closer to Bobby Cox than to Bruce Bochy, he has had tremendous staying power in the Charm City for a reason. One of the reasons why I am so bullish on this team is its loaded roster. My favorite part about it is not Lamar Jackson, nor it is Derrick Henry. I love the Ravens' secondary!
I was taking a look at the Ravens' depth chart in the back-end of their defense over on Ourlads and came across this intriguing discovery. My guy in former Georgia superstar safety Malaki Starks is slotted in as the team's starting free safety over the incumbent Ar'Darius Washington. Because Starks is a noted ballhawk as a first-round pick, Washington will have to play second fiddle to him.
While Washington was able to carve out a nice role as an undrafted free agent out of TCU the last few years with the Ravens, have you seen Starks play? His ball skills remind me of stuff that Ed Reed did coming out of Miami. That is a lofty comparison, but Starks went to a fantastic landing spot for him. He joins a secondary featuring Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton, Nate Wiggins and Jaire Alexander.
The only thing that will derail the Ravens is depth along the offensive line and a bad January showing.
Malaki Starks could be the missing piece to get the Ravens over the top
If my memory serves me correctly, the two times the Ravens ended up winning the Super Bowl, they were carried by their defense. That was obviously the case when it came to the 2000 team that was quarterbacked by Trent Dilfer. I understand that Joe Flacco played out of his mind in 2012, but Ray Lewis was on a mission on what was his final season as a professional. Could this year be different?
We all know that Lamar Jackson is this team's best player. He is the straw that stirs the drink for all things Ravens Flock. That being said, having a defense that can take the ball away at will and get it back into the hands of your best player, you simply cannot put a price on that. Starks is certainly good enough to start in this league as a rookie, but having other elite players around him helps a ton.
Admittedly, this is a bit of a tough spot for Washington. Last year was his breakthrough season in some capacity. He played in all 17 and started in 10. Not bad for a guy in year four out of TCU, one whose NFL career was hanging on by a thread. Again, I think the Ravens value him tremendously, but they also do not want a perceived weak point in the back-end of their defense. Starks solves all this.
There will be at least one game this season where Starks makes a play that makes all the difference.