Malaki Starks is the Right Pick for the Dolphins in the First Round

This off-season, the Dolphins will be shopping for help in the secondary.

With both Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer due to be pending free agents and cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller entering their age-30 seasons, it is time for the team to inject youth into the secondary.

Enter University of Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks.

A first-team All-American by both the PFWA and AFCA, Starks started all 13 games for a team that made the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

For a team loaded with NFL talent, Starks led the Bulldogs in tackles with 77 from the safety position.

He also added one interception and three pass break-ups.

Starks was even more effective in 2023, collecting 52 tackles and three interceptions.

At 61, 205 pounds, Starks has the ability to play both cornerback and safety, allowing the Dolphins to be flexible in the back end of the defense, which is something that current Miami defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver values.

While he was a member of the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff, Weaver and the Ravens were able to scheme their defense around do-it-all safety Kyle Hamilton .

A movable chess piece that the Ravens use all over the field, Hamilton changed the course of the Ravens secondary, as he was able to play both in the box and cover tight ends.

Drafting Starks in the first round would have a similar effect on the Dolphins defense.

Starks would give Miami and Weaver another piece in the secondary, which would allow the Dolphins to explore moving Ramsey to safety as he continues to age.

If they chose to keep Ramsey at cornerback, Starks would be able to aptly play safety or even play in the nickel in certain situations.

Also, the selection of Starks would give the Dolphins insurance should Ramsey or Fuller miss time during the season, which hurt the team in 2024 as it forced both Storm Duck and Siran Neal into situations they were not used to.

Since the turn of the 21st century, Miami has selected five defensive backs of the first round of the draft.

One of those picks, Minkah Fitzpatrick , was supposed to change the course of the secondary and be a chess piece in the realm of Hamilton.

While none of those selections worked out for multiple reasons, Miamis addition of Starks gives it a chance to make up for it.

With Starks via the draft to go along with Fuller and Ramsey and potentially adding someone like Jeremy Chinn or Talanoa Hufanga , the trajectory of the Dolphins secondary would be pointed up heading into 2025.

Add in the return of edge rushers Bradley Chubb and Jaelen Phillips to go with the continued emergence of Chop Robinson attacking opposing passers, and you have the makings of an elite pass defense.

It all starts with selecting the former Bulldog, Starks.

Draft him in the first round and you can not only reshape the secondary, but the entire defense as well.

Daniel Jeremiahs 1st Mock Draft has Miami Addressing the Offense.

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