FanPost

How QB Tom Savage Became the 2014 NFL Draft's Biggest Sleeper


Pretty thorough vetting of his 'back story'.

Example:

"To properly introduce you to Tom Savage the football player, let's start in his hometown of Springfield, Pa., where the kid made an impression on one of the draft's most respected analysts before he was a high schooler.

"I saw him throw the football in eighth grade," said NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock in a conference call earlier this year, per NJ.com's Dan Duggan. "Him and my son played on the same All‑Star Team in eighth grade and I was like, 'Wow, this kid for an eighth grader can really rip it.' "

Or:

"You know that toughness we keep alluding to? It's possible that's why Savage wasn't gaining a lot of attention from mainstream draft analysts until recently. See, the guy was hammered time and again behind a dreadful offensive line at Pitt, but he kept playing through the pain.

From TribLive.com's Jerry DiPaolo in late November:

Savage has been sacked 40 times in 11 games, and that's only when the defense was able to get him to the ground or force him out of bounds.

"He's probably been hit on 60 to 70 percent of the passes," [former Pitt quarterback Pat] Bostick said.

Yet Savage has thrown only eight interceptions in 333 attempts, two in the past seven games — and one of those ricocheted off Boyd's hands.

"I've seen his development amid some pretty tough circumstances at times (this season)," Bostick said, "which speaks to how he works at it."

Savage didn't miss a start in 2013 despite suffering head, knee and rib injuries. How healthy was he? We'll never know.

Watching Tom Savage during the season, I wasn't blown away. But that's the trouble with TV broadcast viewing—you don't always get the full picture. On reevaluating him post-combine, you notice just how poor his pass protection was. That led to some of the bad habits seen in his footwork. All that said, his arm strength and pro-style background are very intriguing.

There's a blurry line that separates quarterbacks with durability issues and those who have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. As we dig deeper on Savage, it's beginning to look as though he's been a victim of the latter. "

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.