Tom Savage drafted by Houston Texans
Tom Savage (7) during the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against the Bowling Green Falcons at Ford Field. Pittsburgh Panthers defeated Bowling Green Falcons 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Well, the Houston Texans have finally found their quarterback, as Bill O’Brien will bank on the physical tools that Tom Savage brings to the table after spending a fourth-round pick on the Pittsburgh Panthers signal-caller. Savage needs plenty of work with his footwork and struggles mightily when under pressure, but he has the arm strength and size combination that had plenty of analysts oozing. Savage is seen by many as a quarterback with enough arm talent to develop into a legitimate franchise quarterback, but it’s important not to gloss over some of his accuracy and decision-making concerns when praising his arm strength.
The Texans came into the draft with quarterback as their biggest hole, but they decided to wait until the late fourth round to draft a QB. It will be interesting to see how much of a leash the Texans give Savage, because they could end up being in a position to draft a top quarterback like Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, or Bryce Petty next season if they struggle badly enough in 2014. If Savage is awful, I’m sure they’ll cut ties with him after spending a mere fourth-round pick. If he’s a rookie revelation, them he’s obviously staying. But if he’s only mediocre, then what will O’Brien and the Texans brain trust do? Now, if the Texans really want Savage to be the developmental guy, then that means they truly believe in him and will start Ryan Fitzpatrick this year. In that case, it’s still not out of the question for them to draft an elite QB prospect in 2014 if they struggle.
Older quarterbacks usually don’t fare out well in the NFL, so we’ll see if Savage is the exception to this rule. I’m not a fan of his game, but at least the Texans found a quarterback in this year’s draft, and he’s at least better than some of the other QBs they could have drafted. I wish they chose Aaron Murray, but I have no qualms with Savage if they believe in him enough. Anyway, the Texans drafted some great players on the first two days of the draft with Jadeveon Clowney, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Louis Nix, and Xavier Su’a-Filo now in the fold.