2019 NFL Draft: Packers move up to take Darnell Savage
The Green Bay Packers pulled off NFL Draft night trade with the Seattle Seahawks to move up nine spots and select Maryland safety Darnell Savage.
Maryland safety Darnell Savage was one of the biggest risers in the pre-draft process over the last couple of weeks, but many didn’t expect that he would be the first safety off of the board. The Packers liked Savage enough to trade up nine spots, giving up a pair of fourth round selections in order to make the move and select Savage.
The trade:
Packers receive: No. 21
Seahawks receive: No. 30, No. 114, No. 118
The Seahawks came into the draft armed with only four picks, and they’ve been the biggest mover and shaker this week. Earlier in the week they traded defensive end Frank Clark to Kansas City in exchange for the No. 29 pick in this year’s class, and now they moved back nine spots to gain some mid-round capital with two fourth round picks.
The Packers have focused their full attention this offseason on the defensive side of the ball. Green Bay uncharacteristically spent a lot of money this offseason to upgrade a pedestrian pass rush, handing big contracts to Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith.
The Packers are clearly being aggressive this offseason so as to maximize the remaining Super Bowl window with Aaron Rodgers under center. It’s a bit of a surprise they didn’t focus on an offensive lineman, though, with how much of a beating Rodgers has taken the last couple of years.
Several quality lineman were still on the board with Florida’s Jawaan Taylor, Washington State’s Andre Dillard, and Oklahoma’s Cody Ford.
Instead, the Packers chose to grab Savage to team him with Adrian Amos in what could be an intriguing defensive backfield. Savage had a strong combine highlighted by his 4.36 40-yard-dash and 39.5 inch vertical jump.
It’s a bit curious that the Packers decided to move up so far in order to grab Savage, who may have been available by the time they picked at No. 30 anyway. There were rumors that the Raiders had interest at both 24 and 27, so if they coveted Savage this may have been the only spot that made sense in terms of a trade-up.
Savage could be a quality player, but I think Green Bay probably would have been better suited bulking up the offensive line to protect Rodgers and keep him healthy and upright.
Next. Full 7-round 2019 NFL Draft. dark
In any case, the Packers have definitely upgraded their defense in hopes of getting back to the playoffs after a two year absence.