Ravens safety Malaki Starks said he graded his rookie season “probably” a C-plus or B-minus and is changing his offseason routine—adding pilates and weight—while planning to consult Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden as he prepares for his second season under
Ravens safety Malaki Starks didn’t sugarcoat his rookie year. In May, he said it wasn’t up to the standard he set for himself—and the weeks since haven’t softened that view.
Speaking to Jeff Zrebiec of TheAthletic.com, the 2025 first-round pick said he’d “probably would go C-plus, B-minus” on his own report card. Now, he’s working on the fixes before training camp becomes the next measuring stick.
Starks said he is integrating pilates into his offseason workouts and has added weight after playing at 202 pounds last year. The goal is simple: perform closer to the level he expects from himself.
To help him get there, he’s also reaching for a familiar resource—Jon Gruden. Starks said he plans to “get back with Jon Gruden,” explaining that he trained with him before the draft, that Gruden “prepped me for the draft,” and that they’ve stayed in touch since.
“I’m going to get back with Jon Gruden,” Starks said. “I trained with him before the draft. so I’m going to get back with him and pick his brain a little bit. . . . 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.”.
The timing matters, too. The Ravens have a new head coach in Jesse Minter, and Starks said “everybody gets a new start” with the change. For him, that fresh start isn’t something he’s waiting to feel—it’s something he’s already building into his preparation.
A little time with Gruden is part of making that reset count as camp approaches, with Starks pushing to turn that C-plus, B-minus mindset into something higher when it matters.
Malaki Starks Ravens Jon Gruden Jesse Minter training camp pilates offseason workouts 202 pounds 2025 first-round pick
C-plus/B-minus? man he should’ve been starting like day 1.
Pilates?? That just sounds like he’s doing spa workouts instead of football. Maybe it helps I guess but still weird.
Wait Jon Gruden is training people again? I thought he was done forever after all that. Ravens really said “let’s hire the drama guy” lol.
I don’t get it, new head coach so he gets a new start… but he’s also saying he’s already building into it. Like which one is it? Also he went from 202 to more weight and pilates to fix grades… sounds like guesswork to me. Ravens always changing stuff, then camp happens and everyone pretends it’s all planned.