Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks (24) warms up before the start of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. / Joshua l. Jones Athens Banner-Herald USA TODAY

The Carolina Panthers are more likely than not targeting defense in the first round of the NFL Draft. They’ve been endlessly mocked a linebacker (Jalon Walker), edge rusher (Walker or in some cases Abdul Carter), or an interior defensive lineman (Mason Graham).

However, the “perfect fit,” at least according to NFL insider Frank Schwab, is none of the above. Those players would certainly be good, but Schwab believes there’s a better and in some instances more realistic player on the board for Carolina at eight overall.

NFL expert tabs Malaki Starks as ideal draft choice for Panthers

The best draft fit for the Panthers is Malaki Starks, the All-American safety out of Georgia. Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports did say that the Panthers could go in a lot of different directions, but that Starks is one of the best options.

“The Panthers can go in just about any direction with the eighth overall draft pick and it would be justified. They need help at just about every position,” Schwab said. “A versatile safety like Starks would help the process of building a defense from the ground up.

Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Malaki Starks (24) on the field against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium.

The Panthers had a pretty abysmal safety room last season, and virtually all of them are free agents. Xavier Woods, Jordan Fuller, Sam Franklin, and Nick Scott are all FAs and none are likely to return except maybe Franklin, but he’s more of a special teams player anyway.The Panthers will have to add safeties plural, so why not add one in the draft? With Graham and Carter probably off the board, picking Starks over Walker wouldn’t be a huge stretch, and it would help revamp the back end of that awful Panthers defense.

The Philadelphia Eagles just won the Super Bowl with a dominant defense, so the Panthers should try to rebuild that side of the ball. Additionally, their defense is made up of a ton of former Georgia players, so the Panthers can follow that blueprint as well. Walker, for what it’s worth, is also a Bulldog, so he would appease that as well.