The NFL Combine took place in Indianapolis last weekend, and many Georgia football stars really improved their draft stock in the biggest event leading up to the NFL Draft. But one player who some thought hurt their draft stock was Malaki Starks.
To be fair, the only reason some thought Starks' stock dropped is because another safety outperformed him when everyone thought Starks was the No. 1 safety in this draft class. But still, the consensus from many was that Starks did not live up to the hype at the Combine.
That however isn't a sentiment shared by everyone as NFL Draft expert Daniel Jeremiah walked away very impressed with Starks for one big reason.
“Malaki Starks’ interviews, which won’t surprise you, were outstanding,” Jeremiah said via dawgpost.com. “Incredible. The Clemson game was his best tape which was right out of the gate. He just didn’t make as many plays as he did in the past. I thought maybe I was being hard on him and had him in the early 30s, but I thought ‘let me take a step back’. I’m hearing all these teams talking about his intelligence and his leadership. To me I put extra weight on that as a safety so I’m going to move him up my list because there are just too many dots that are connected. So I’m going to forgive him for not making as many plays this year and know they’e going to come in the future.”
Starks' intangibles takes him to the next level
The biggest reason why Jeremiah left the Combine impressed with Starks is because of the intelligence and leadership he displayed during interviews at the Combine. And according to Jeremiah, these are extremely important qualities to have as a safety.
No one can deny the player that Starks is on the field. The second he stepped foot on the field his freshman season it became very clear that he is a special player. And that remained true throughout his entire career at Georgia.
So even if he maybe didn't have the perfect Combine last weekend, Starks still showed why he is a consensus first round pick in the draft this year. And if Georgia fans know anything about Starks, he will prove those doubters wrong at Georgia's upcoming Pro Day next week.