Georgia DB Malaki Starks proves why he is a first round pick at 2025 NFL Combine

Day two of the NFL Combine has come and gone as the defensive backs and tight ends had their chance to impress NFL organizations on Friday. For Georgia football, they only had one player participating on Friday, and that was safety Maliki Starks.

This is much less than the four players Georgia had participating during day one on Thursday, but Starks is one of the top prospects in the NFL Draft this season, so he was going to have a lot of attention on him. And Starks did not disappoint.

Starks dominates all other safeties during Combine drills

Starks performed very well in the drills that grabs everyone’s attention like the 40-yard dash and vertical jump, but it was his performance during the on field drills that really stood out. During five of these on field drills, Starks recorded the fastest top speed out of any safety. According to Next Gen Stats, Starks had the top speed from a safety in the short shuttle, W drill, gauntlet drill, line drill and the Teryl Austin drill.

Speed and quickness is obviously an important attribute for any position in football, but it is especially important for a safety as they have to cover a large portion of the field. So Starks proving to be the fastest safety at the Combine shows why everyone believes he will be a first round draft pick later this spring.

In fact, NFL Draft expert Daniel Jeremiah believes this performance cemented Starks as a first round draft pick.

The 2025 NFL Combine rolls on to Saturday where Georgia will have three players participate including running back Trevor Etienne and wide receivers Arian Smith and Dominic Lovett. All three of these players have a lot to prove, but Georgia’s players have done exceptionally well at the Combine so far and these three likely will keep that trend going on Saturday.