Tom Savage might be the very definition of "sleeper,'' as the quarterback who sat out two full seasons, started at Pittsburgh for only one year, then suddenly had so many teams interested in him he could barely schedule them all. On Saturday the Houston Texans grabbed him in the fourth round of the NFL draft, with a compensatory pick, the 135th pick overall.
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The Texans waited longer than anticipated to take a young quarterback to groom, but the one they chose is something of a mystery. The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Savage injured his hand and lost his job at Rutgers as a sophomore in 2009, transferred to Arizona State, then transferred again when it changed head coaches. That cost him the 2012 season after he went to Pittsburgh, but last season he threw for 2,958 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Scouts fell in love with his prototypical size, ideal release and toughness in pre-draft workouts - and he had plenty of them, as more and more teams became intrigued by him the closer the draft came. Reportedly, he was invited to attend the draft in person, but later declined. He's 24 years old, and is considered very raw.
The Texans traded starter Matt Schaub and signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to compete with Case Keenum for the starting job - and they beefed up on defense in their earlier picks in this draft. Savage will have a chance to develop and grow into a potential starter down the line.
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