Eric DeCosta Claims Malaki Starks Interview Was Off The Charts

Eric DeCosta Claims Malaki Starks Interview Was Off The Charts

Malaki Starks isn’t just a really good football player (I’ve been trying to tell you that for years, here’s his profile). It turns out he also knocked the interview process out of the park. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta says that Starks was one of the best interviews they’ve ever done during the pre-draft process.

The Ravens’ general manager claims Starks was the “best player by far” on their board and one of the best interviews they’ve ever had. This link right here takes you to the full presser where DeCosta talks about the draft.

“We are happy to take Malaki Starks,” DeCosta said. “He’s a player that we’ve seen over the last couple of years, a great football player at a great football program. Wired like a Raven. Great mentality. Probably one of the most impressive interviews we’ve ever had at the Combine.”

“I just think it was remarkable, the way that he could discuss football,” DeCosta said of Starks’ pre-draft interview. “His awareness, his ability to call out the plays from their defense before we even showed the plays, just based on formation. The ability to dissect and talk about what happened on any given play and to know what his teammates were doing on any given play.

“It was like he was a coach. And when he got up we all were just kind of looking at each other. We use a grading scale, we grade every interview, and seven is the best, and across the board he got straight sevens. So it was just super impressive. I haven’t seen that type of detail in a long time.”

2025 NFL Draft Safety Rankings

Starks, 21, was taken with the 27th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That’s far too low based on where I had him. He should have gone in the top ten based on the Combine performance alone, let alone the years of dominant production at Georgia. Baltimore got a steal with this pick.

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