The Washington Commanders put in a lot of work this offseason to improve off their NFC Championship appearance in 2024 as they look to become a legit contender rather than just a one-off season.
Washington addressed multiple positions this offseason as they had the second-most free agents to hit the market, but they made their biggest splashes via trade on the offensive side of the ball, acquiring Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil.
The focus has now shifted from trades and free agency, and the Commanders will look to improve via the NFL Draft, with their first pick being the 29th overall pick.
Teams have been hesitant to trade up in the draft this year, but there still could be some value in trading down, especially from where the Commanders sit. However, according to The 33rd Team's NFL Draft Lead Kyle Crabbs, Washington will be staying put and taking versatile safety out of Georgia, Malaki Starks.
"Washington aggressively addressed a number of its most pressing needs with trades. Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel changed the game offensively for the Commanders," Crabbs wrote. "But on defense, Dan Quinn's unit is missing a secondary quarterback. Starks is a highly cerebral player who should be a match made in heaven with Quinn."
The Commanders currently are pretty set up depth wise at both safety positions, especially after signing Will Harris in free agency, but they could look to add a more versatile player at the position like Starks who has shown the ability to be movable around the back-end of the secondary along with playing against some of the best competition while playing in the South Eastern Conference.
Starks, who was a highly touted five-star player out of high school, was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and helped lead them to a National Championship his freshman season. He went on to earn first-team All-SEC in his second season as well as becoming a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski and Jim Thorpe Awards. In his final season, Starks was named a second-team All-American and second-team All-SEC on his way to once again being named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.
Starks started every game for the Bulldogs in college and shows that he is as reliable as they come. The best ability is availability. Starks is a versatile player with the size and athleticism to contest catches and the speed/fluidity to play the deep ball well. His high marks in interviews also show the character traits that NFL teams covet but he will need to improve his vision, angles, and speed out of breaks in small areas to become an elite safety in the league.
