Jevon Holland, all things considered, likely isn’t going to be back with the Miami Dolphins next season. The Dolphins’ second round pick is considered by many to be the top available free agent safety on the market and should get a big contract offer from someone once free agency starts next month. The expanding salary cap should only make teams even more aggressive in their pursuit.
As such, the salary cap-strapped Dolphins (around $1.5 million in cap space) are very likely looking to free agency themselves for a cheaper solution to not one, but two vacancies at safety this offseason.
They’re also looking in the draft, and as of Thursday, there’s a player that they appear to have a substantial amount of interest in. Georgia safety Malaki Starks told the media that he met with the Dolphins this week at the NFL Combine.
Starks also revealed that the Raiders and Panthers – both of whom pick ahead of the Dolphins – met with him this week as well. Starks is very likely a first round pick, so this would be a pick the Dolphins would have to use #13 on to secure his services, if he’s still even there at 13.
Starks, considered by many draft experts to be the top safety prospect, would bring a level of brute physicality that Miami needs to infuse into its roster. A sure tackler and a crushing hitter, he could provide an intimidating presence on the back end of Miami’s defense.
His coverage skills have been a mixed bag among pundits, but according to Starks, he more than held his own at Georgia against Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers during practices, something he says helped him earn a starting job on the Bulldogs’ talented defense. Bowers finished his rookie season last year with an NFL record 1194 receiving yards on 112 catches with 5 touchdowns.
Miami has a number of directions they could go with pick #13. But if they’re looking to shed the “soft” label that current and for Dolphins players have used and to continue to get tougher players in the building, they could do far worse than adding Starks to their defense.
