Darnell Savage Jr.’s remarkable rise from a relatively unknown three-star high school prospect to a respected if still overlooked college player at Maryland reached a once hard-to-imagine peak when the undersized but lightning-fast safety was picked in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft on Thursday night.
Savage, who as a senior last season in College Park was selected second-team All-Big Ten before being voted the top defensive back at the Senior Bowl and becoming perhaps the biggest breakout star at this year’s NFL scouting combine, was taken No. 21 overall by the Green Bay Packers.