The Georgia Bulldogs to Philadelphia Eagles pipeline is alive and well, and there’s no reason to see that changing for the reigning Super Bowl champions at pick No. 32 of the 2025 NFL Draft.
After adding safety Lewis Cine late last season, and signing EDGE Azeez Ojulari last week, the Eagles upped their ante to seven former Georgia defenders on their current roster. The list includes an ascending superstar in defensive tackle Jalen Carter, and a pair of rising studs in linebacker Nakobe Dean and EDGE Nolan Smith Jr.
GM Howie Roseman has been stockpiling Georgia products for years, and the strategy has yet to fail him. The 2025 draft class features several Bulldogs as projected first-round picks, led by EDGE defenders Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams, and safety Malaki Starks.
Safety is suddenly a position of need for the Eagles after they traded veteran starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans this offseason. WIth that in mind, NFL Draft analyst Thor Nystrom of Fantasy Life predicts the Eagles will add to their Georgia haul by making Starks the No. 32 overall pick in the draft this April. Here was Nystrom’s take:
Eagles GM Howie Roseman was sent to this earth to do three things: Stop the free-fall of players who should have been picked higher, select Georgia Bulldog defenders, and chew bubble gum.
He’s all out of bubble gum.
Starks would make a lot of sense for the Eagles, assuming he's still on the board at the end of the first round. As it stands, Sydney Brown, Tristin McCollum and Cine will be among the safeties battling it out in training camp to start opposite Reed Blankenship this season.
Brown, Philly’s third-round pick in 2023, feels like the clear frontrunner for the job, but he’s struggled to stay on the field due to injuries over his first two seasons as a pro. Starks won’t turn 22 until November, and while he wasn’t elite in coverage for Georgia in 2024, he more than made up for that as a tackler and run defender. Starks earned an 85.6 grade from PFF against the rush in 2024, including 18 run-stuffs.
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The Eagles could go a number of directions at pick No. 32, and if they’re all-in on landing Starks, they’ll most likely trade up a few spots to go get him. It’s easy to see the team going offensive line, defensive tackle or EDGE in this spot as well, making this a true top-player-on-the-board situation for Roseman and Co. On Day 1.
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