{"id":50337,"date":"2025-05-23T00:57:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T00:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=50337"},"modified":"2025-05-23T00:57:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T00:57:59","slug":"breaking-former-super-bowl-mvp-calls-rookie-perfect-fit-for-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=50337","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Former Super Bowl MVP Calls Rookie \u2018Perfect Fit\u2019 for Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1654533547.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1654533547.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1654533547.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1654533547.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Former NFL safety and Super Bowl 37 MVP Dexter Jackson called Malaki Starks and the Ravens &quot;the perfect fit.&quot;\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" data-img-load-time=\"2077\" data-dom-ready-time=\"4262\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Malaki Starks #24 of the Georgia Bulldogs reacts after an interception during the second quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Sanford Stadium on September 9, 2023 in Athens, Georgia.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Each year, teams enter the draft hopeful that they\u2019ll find a player who will help them reach the next level. They\u2019re looking for a player who embodies their team identity or fills a major gap. But, not every team is so lucky. During this year\u2019s draft, the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0found the \u201cperfect fit\u201d with safety\u00a0Malaki Starks, according to former NFL safety and Super Bowl 37 MVP\u00a0Dexter Jackson\u00a0and several NFL analysts at\u00a0ESPN.<\/p>\n<h2>Starks \u2018Fits the Baltimore Culture to a T\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Ben Mendelowitz of\u00a0RotoGrinders\u00a0sat down with Jackson to discuss his thoughts on the Buccaneers, the NFL Draft,\u00a0Shedeur Sanders\u00a0and more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen it comes to the\u00a0<span class=\"caps\">NFL<\/span>\u00a0Draft, it\u2019s all about fit,\u201d said Jackson. \u201cMalaki Starks and the Baltimore Ravens are the perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jackson continues that Starks fits the culture that the Ravens have established as a defensive-minded team. Starks\u2019 versatility, range and ability to blitz effectively makes him a great fit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you have two great safeties, it helps a lot in today\u2019s game . . . because they can do so many different things,\u201d Jackson says.<\/p>\n<h2>Multiple ESPN Analysts Describe Starks as a \u2018Perfect Fit\u2019 to Play Next to Kyle Hamilton<\/h2>\n<p>Entering the NFL Draft, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller\u00a0wrote\u00a0that Malaki Starks would be \u201cBaltimore\u2019s dream pick.\u201d Starks\u2019 versatility would enable Baltimore to \u201ckeep Kyle Hamilton in a deep safety role,\u201d which would be their preference.<\/p>\n<p>Following the draft, Miller praised the pick as a \u201chome run\u201d because of \u201cStarks\u2019 ability to play any alignment at the safety position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Ravens love to draft highly productive players from major programs, and Starks is an outstanding defensive player,\u201d writes Miller.<\/p>\n<p>Several analysts\u00a0also praised the pick because Starks could be the \u201cperfect fit\u201d alongside Baltimore\u2019s All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton.<\/p>\n<p>The pick was one of only five selections graded as \u201celite\u201d by the\u00a0PFF staff. They pointed to Starks\u2019 run-defense grade (85.6) and missed tackle rate (8.1%), both near the best in the draft class.<\/p>\n<p>They also praised Starks\u2019 \u201chigh-level football intelligence\u201d and \u201cgreat anticipation.\u201d Those qualities should enable him to move around in the defensive backfield. Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr would then have the ability to use Kyle Hamilton as \u201ca movable chess piece.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen described Hamilton and Starks as \u201cinterchangeable safeties.\u201d Bowen explains that this will be enable Baltimore to more effectively disguise coverages and create havoc post-snap.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStarks is a versatile defender with playmaking ability, capable of impacting multiple levels of the field as a rookie,\u201d writes Bowen.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Graziano, ESPN national NFL reporter, sees Starks as a \u201cperfect fit\u201d with Baltimore\u2019s plan to strengthen up the middle. His ability to play in the center of the field will complement Kyle Hamilton\u2019s style of play, allowing Hamilton to come up \u201ccloser to the line of scrimmage more often.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finally, ESPN\u2019s Mina Kimes echoed the sentiments of all of the above writers. Kimes also praised Starks\u2019 qualities as a player and the impact it could have for Kyle Hamilton, who she thinks is \u201cone of the best safeties in the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Malaki Starks #24 of the Georgia Bulldogs reacts after an interception during the second quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Sanford Stadium on September 9,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Former Super Bowl MVP Calls Rookie \u2018Perfect Fit\u2019 for Ravens - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=50337\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Former Super Bowl MVP Calls Rookie \u2018Perfect Fit\u2019 for Ravens - 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