The Eagles’ secondary was elite in 2024, but the group might not be as good next season without safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was traded by Philadelphia to the Houston Texans this offseason.
Gardner-Johnson amassed six interceptions this past season and was the best playmaker on Philadelphia’s championship defense, which forced 13 turnovers in the playoffs, including three turnovers in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
His playmaking ability won’t be easily replaced. But if the Eagles believed Gardner-Johnson was irreplaceable, they wouldn’t have traded him for draft bust Kenyon Green and a fifth-round pick — and they wouldn’t have allowed him to leave in free agency for the Detroit Lions two years ago.
In 2023, the Eagles signed Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds to replace Gardner-Johnson, but both players struggled to fill his shoes. The trade for safety Kevin Byard at the 2023 trade deadline failed. This time around, the Eagles need to have a better plan to replace Gardner-Johnson. Perhaps the team is confident third-year safety Sydney Brown can become a starter, but he has not proven to be reliable during his first two years. They could bring in an early-round draft choice to compete with Brown for the starting job in training camp.
The Eagles have never drafted a safety in the first round, but that could change this year if Malaki Starks, the Georgia safety, who was expected to be a top-10 pick before the 2024 season, falls to pick No. 32 — or is within range for a trade up. Starks had a down year and didn’t test well at the combine, but at the end of the first round, he would be too good to pass up. The Eagles have other needs, but safety is a big weakness from a talent and depth standpoint.
Pro Football Focus has Starks ranked as their ninth best prospect, while ESPN and NFL Network both have him outside their top 20.
In his last year (2024) at Georgia, Starks played at safety and nickel, and by handling multiple duties, he demonstrated good football intelligence. He played 400 snaps at deep safety, 271 at nickel and 215 in the box, per Pro Football Focus.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, one of the smartest minds in football, could use Starks as a chess piece. Fangio could move slot cornerback Cooper DeJean to the boundary, put Starks at nickel and play Brown at safety to mix up his looks.
Starks’ range would make DeJean’s and Quinyon Mitchell’s job easier at cornerback.
In Georgia’s Week 1 matchup against Clemson this past season, Starks ran with Clemson wide receiver Tyler Brown from the 50-yard line to the 22-yard line and contorqued his body in the air to snag an interception.
Starks only had interception in 2024, but he amassed three interceptions in 2023 and two interceptions in 2022 — and those numbers might only go up in the NFL.
In 2025, Starks could make an instant impact and be more consistent than Gardner-Johnson, who gave up seven passing touchdowns last season, according to PFF.
As a run defender, Starks needs to take better angles while in pursuit. In his worst performance of the year against Alabama, Starks missed a handful of tackles and struggled in coverage, earning a below-average grade (50.8) from PFF in a loss.
At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Starks is a solid athlete, but his 4.50 40-yard dash (10th among safeties) and 33-inch vertical (13th among safeties) at the combine was disappointing. But he did reach the fifth-highest speed of any safety during the field workouts at 23.12 miles per hour.
Starks would join seven former Georgia players on the Eagles’ defense — defensive tackle Jalen Carter, edge rushers Nolan Smith and Azeez Ojulari, defensive tackle Jordan Davis, linebacker Nakobe Dean, cornerback Kelee Ringo and safety Lewis Cine. The 21-year-old has the ability to become a high-caliber starter, and Fangio could take his game to the next level.
