Positional ranking: #2

Big Board ranking: #26

 

Overview

Position: S

College: Maryland

Class: Senior

Age: N/A (will be updated)

 

Measurables

Height: 5’10 3/4″

Weight: 198 lbs.

Arm length: 31”

Hand size: 9 1/8”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.36 sec.

Vertical jump: 39.5”

Broad jump: 126.0”

Bench press: 11 reps

3-cone drill: 7.03 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.14 sec.

 

Strengths

Heat-seeking missile on the backend. Big hitter with top-end speed and athleticism. Twitched up and violent. Flies around to defend the run and make plays in the backfield. Fearless plugging holes near the line of scrimmage. Wrap-up tackler that breaks down in space. Aggressive and quick to diagnose in coverage. Plus reaction time. Aware and instinctive in zone coverage. At home in the box. Has the overall skillset to be a single-high safety. Can come down to defend tight ends and slot receivers. Very good ball skills with the ability to jump underneath throws. Great closing burst. Ultra competitive.

 

Weaknesses

Play style can lead to ineffective roaming. Sometimes caught flat-footed or with his eyes in the backfield. Relies on recovery speed more than natural mirror skills in coverage.

 

NFL comparison

Bob Sanders – This is the most difficult comparison to date for this year’s class, as Darnell Savage’s athleticism combined with his physical play style is very rare; while not quite as violent as Sanders (4.40 40-yard dash, 41.5-inch vertical), the two would have likely been similar if they played in the same era.

 

Conclusion

Overall, Darnell Savage brings elite speed/explosiveness on the backend, but he’s certainly not a finesse player like many with his size and athletic profile might be in today’s NFL. I think Savage—my No. 2 safety prospect—is worth considering at the end of the first round.