Green Bay Packers: 3 Players to watch vs. Texans in Preseason Week 1

1. Darnell Savage Jr., S

Finally back on the field after landing on the non-football injury list before training camp started (wisdom teeth), rookie safety Darnell Savage Jr. slid right back into the starting free safety role on the first-team defense upon returning to practice earlier this week.

Though he missed a good chunk of the beginning of training camp, Savage is clearly an integral part of Green Bay’s defense and appears to be one of the main reasons — along with a bevy of other key additions — the Packers defense could have a huge turnaround in 2019.

It’ll be interesting to see how many snaps Savage plays in Thursday’s preseason game against Houston, though, considering he hasn’t been able to practice much with the first-team defense during camp and the fact that it’s the team’s first exhibition game. That said, Savage is a rookie after all, and rookies typically need more experience with getting used to the speed of the NFL.

Packers fans should be ecstatic about the prospect of seeing a playmaking safety on the back end of the defense once again, something we haven’t seen since Nick Collins was forced to retire due to a neck injury. Savage has all the upside in the world, but it’ll be up to him — and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine — to reach his full potential.