2019 NFL Draft Player Profile: S Darnell Savage Jr.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to make a decision on Sean Davis after the 2019 season and I don’t think he is retained. It would be wise for the Steelers to make a heads-up move and draft an eventual replacement. Darnell Savage Jr. will be in Pittsburgh soon for a pre-draft visit.

Background

Darnell Savage Jr. #4
Maryland
Safety
5’11”, 198lbs
Senior

– 2nd Team All-Big 10
– Switched number from 26 to 4 in respect for his mentor William Likely
– 37 Starts at safety

2018 Combine 

40 yard dash: 4.36
Vertical jump: 39.5″
Broad jump: 126″
Bench press of 225lbs: 11 reps
3-cone drill: 7.03s
20-yd shuttle: 4.14s

2018 Stats

52 tackles (38 solo), 5.5 TFL, 4 INT (1TD), 2 PD

What’s To Like

Extremely athletic, fluid and instinctive. Astounding range. Click and close burst. High football IQ to read plays quickly and react accordingly. Fills and tackles well. Downhill, physical player. Extremely versatile, plays both in the box, single high, man and zone coverage. Sheds blocks with high effort to make plays. Takes great angles to the ball carrier. Uses speed and instincts to eliminate the edge for stretch plays, always forces ball carrier inside to his help. High effort in pursuit. Disrupts the catch at the catch-point.

Concerns

You’d like your safety to be a bit taller. Can get too handsy in man coverage while reading the quarterback. Inconsistent with his urgency to the football. Tends to not come to balance before attempting a tackle, can overrun the ball carrier. Tackling technique needs work. Needs to stay cognizant of play action, bites too often. Attempts one-arm tackles too often.

Verdict

I went into Savage’s tape with a bit of hype around it. Fortunately, he did not disappoint. I can see why the Steelers are bringing him in for a pre-draft visit. The versatility, athleticism and variety of skills in his arsenal would be very welcomed on the Steelers’ back end. I don’t see the first-round hype around him, but he’s a top-60 player for me. I expect Savage’s role to be the strong safety in the dime and a core special teams player otherwise. With Sean Davis’ future with the Steelers up in the air, it would be wise to draft an eventual replacement. Going into 2020, the Steelers will have two young, up-and-coming safeties.

Grade: 2nd Round
Projection: 2nd-Early 3rd Round

More SCB 2019 Player Profiles

Games Watched: 2018 Ohio State, 2018 Temple, 2018 Texas

Credits: Youtube, Sports Reference, Terps website, pressbox Baltimore