The Indianapolis Colts need to look long and hard at their needs in the secondary this offseason, and arguably chief among them is a smart, instinctual free safety who can make plays in the back end.
ESPN‘s Mel Kiper Jr. released his latest 2025 NFL mock draft on Tuesday morning and recognized the needs for new Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s backfield. With the 14th overall pick in the draft, Kiper gave the Colts Georgia safety Malaki Starks:
This is a good fit, with an obvious need for a ball-hawking safety on the back end of the Colts’ defense. Julian Blackmon is a free agent. And Starks — who picked off six passes across three seasons — can make an instant impact.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Indy look at offense as it tries to maximize and evaluate the long-term prospects of quarterback Anthony Richardson in Year 3 of his career. Perhaps Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan or Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka could be the move at WR. But Starks probably makes more sense, especially because there are receiver options available in free agency.
Starks fills an immediate, significant vacancy for the Colts, as Anarumo’s defense tends to rely more heavily on a single-high safety. Julian Blackmon — the Colts’ current starting free safety — is set to become a free agent and is coming off of the shakiest year of his career while he played through injury. He has also been most impactful at strong safety, closer to the box, rather than at deep free safety.
NFL Media draft expert Daniel Jeremiah recently hosted a conference call and spoke about Starks, saying, “Starks is an intriguing one. You noticed him when he was younger and kind of popped on the scene. Man, he’s such an easy mover, like a fluid athlete.
“He just didn’t make as many plays this year… But real reliable. He’s obviously a really smooth athlete, takes really good angles. Gets guys on the ground. I like the fact that he’s young. I think his best football is still ahead of him, and I like the fact that he has safety-nickel flex and can do a lot of different things.”
Currently, Colts safeties under contract for 2025 are Nick Cross, Rodney Thomas II, Daniel Scott, and Marcel Dabo.