The Green Bay Packers continued to revamp their defense in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on Thursday night, selecting University of Maryland safety Darnell Savage with the 21st overall pick.
Savage is ready to get to work, and, most of all, he is prepared to learn from fellow safety Adrian Amos, who is entering his first season with the Packers after signing with the team via free agency earlier this offseason:
Ready to learn big bro 💪🏾
— Darnell Savage Jr. (@darnellsavage_) April 26, 2019
Savage is coming off of a senior campaign in which he totaled 52 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and a defensive touchdown.
He arrived at Maryland back in 2015, but he played in just five games during his freshman season, logging 12 tackles. His role then grew tremendously the following year, as he finished with 59 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a pick, and three passes defended during his sophomore campaign.
Then, Savage was even better during his junior season, registering 59 tackles, three interceptions, a fumble recovery, eight passes defended and a defensive score.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is thrilled with the pick:
“He’s a young ascending player, he has great physical traits,” said Gutekunst, per Brian Jones of 247 Sports. “He’s an explosive athlete, very good tackler. I thought he could play in the box, near the line of scrimmage. You can move him around, blitz him, do some different things with him. He can play the post, as well. In his career, I thought you saw as he grew and his instincts grew, he became more and more of a playmaker. And just again someone we kind of liked coming out of college, watched him grow, think his best football is ahead of him and we’re excited to have.”
For a Green Bay defense in desperate need of assistance, Savage could end up playing a significant role in 2019.
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