He spent his rookie season working with a Super Bowl-winning head coach, and Baltimore Ravens safety Malaki Starks plans to reunite with somebody who knows what it takes to win the NFL’s biggest prize.
Starks, the final first-round pick of the John Harbaugh era, is gearing up for his sophomore campaign in 2026 and looking for a little help from a voice of experience.
The help could come from former Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden. Starks told Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, “I’m going to get back with Jon Gruden. I trained with him before the draft, so I’m going to get back with him and pick his brain a little bit.”
When asked by Zrebiec about what it’s like to work with Gruden, last year’s 27th-overall pick emphatically replied, “It’s awesome. I trained with him for the draft. He prepped me for the draft and we’ve been really cool ever since. Just to learn from a guy like him and have him as a resource, I think it will be huge.”
Training with Gruden, who guided the 2002 Bucs to a Super Bowl title, but remains a controversial figure, is just one of three adjustments Starks is making to get better in his first year under rookie head coach Jesse Minter.
Malaki Starks Set to Revive Jon Gruden Connection
Starks’ decision to work with Gruden is notable when the latter is still involved in a legal action against the league concerning the way it investigated and subsequently revealed offensive e-mails he sent, while working as an analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, to then-Washington general manager Bruce Allen.
GettyFormer Raiders coach Jon Gruden worked with Starks before the 2025 NFL draft.
A report from The Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Beaton in October, 2021 detailed Gruden sending an e-mail in 2011 containing a “racial trope” used to describe then-executive director of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith.
Further reporting by Ken Belson and Kathrine Rosman of The New York Times, as well as ESPN’s Adam Schefter and News Services found “Gruden frequently used misogynistic and anti-gay language in numerous emails during the seven-year period before he was hired as coach of the Raiders in 2018.”
He resigned from the Raiders during the 2021 season, but “In November 2021, Gruden sued the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell for leaking to multiple media outlets emails from the supposedly confidential investigation into the Washington franchise. Gruden contends that the leaks were calculated to force his ouster.” per Pro Football Talk host Mike Florio.
The “jury trial is scheduled to begin in May 2027,” according to Fox5 Vegas.
In the meantime, Gruden will get to reconnect with Starks and give the former Georgia Bulldogs star tips on how to improve. Part of those tips should focus on how Starks can possibly keep pace with fellow safety and Ravens All-Pro Kyle Hamilton, the highest-paid player at his position in NFL history.
Matching Hamilton is a daunting task, but Starks has two ways to make strides. One involves what the 22-year-old can learn from Minter.
Jesse Minter Key to Improving Ravens’ Safeties
Minter replacing longtime coach Harbaugh, who was dismissed and joined the New York Giants this offseason, is good news for Starks. At least based on what former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Minter did for All-Pro Derwin James’ game last season.
Starks was asked by Zrebiec if he’s taking a page from how the Bolts deployed their safeties under Minter, and the player replied, “the Chargers really were a dominant defense and they really liked their safeties. They wanted them to go make plays on the ball, so there was a lot of watching them and seeing how they play certain things and how they do certain things. Now that he’s here and running a similar defense, I’m really excited.”
GettyNew head coach Minter’s creative use of safeties is good news for Starks.
James isn an interesting comparison because he’s the blueprint for how Minter can change Hamilton’s role. Starks likely won’t be used in the same way, but he’s still making a key change, just in case he’s thrust closer to the line of scrimmage.
As Starks explained to Zrebiec, “I just came back and just from all of the workouts, I got a little more muscle. I came back at like 214. I played last year at like 202. But I weighed in at like 207 today. I feel like I run better when I’m heavier. I also just feel like if I can add more weight and I still move well, then why not? I have to hit some pretty heavy people. I don’t mind being a little bit bigger at all.”
Adding muscle to his frame will help Starks be a key member of what’s likely to be a revolving trio of starting safeties. A group that includes Jaylinn Hawkins, whose opportunistic streak helped the New England Patriots reach last season’s Super Bowl.
Minter and new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will likely want to move Starks, Hamilton and Hawkins all over the field. Altering the look of both coverage and pressure before and after the snap, in the process.
It’s an ambitious plan, but one suited to Starks’ own natural versatility. The strategy also fits Minter’s high expectations for the second-year defensive back.
New X’s and O’s, combined with his own work with Gruden and in the weight room, can boost production for a player who snatched just two interceptions and didn’t register a sack as a rookie.
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