Giants Might Finally Have Eli Manning's Successor by Drafting QB Davis Webb

There are a number of teams in the NFL facing an unfortunate reality as we head into the 2017 campaign: They have aging starters under center and no clear successor in sight.

The New Orleans Saints were reportedly ready to pull the trigger on an heir apparent to Drew Brees in Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech at No. 11 overall, per golfer Ryan Palmer (h/t NFL.com). They didn't, but only because the Chiefs leapfrogged them to snag Mahomes as Alex Smith's successor in Kansas City.

The New York Giants are in a similar boat with 36-year-old Eli Manning, but general manager Jerry Reese wasn't quite that aggressive in addressing the future under center.

Still, late in Round 3, the Giants took Davis Webb, and in doing so New York may well have gotten the best value so far.

The player the Giants settled on at No. 87 has been intertwined with two of the highest-rated quarterbacks of the past two drafts. After starting a handful of games early in his collegiate career at Texas Tech, Webb lost his job to Mahomes. The 6'5", 229-pound Webb then traveled to Cal as a graduate transfer, where he succeeded 2016 No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff.

Webb completed 61.6 percent of his passes during that one season as a starter for the Golden Bears, passing for 4,295 yards, 37 touchdowns and 12 picks—not far off the pace Goff set last year.

Webb didn't generate nearly the hype Goff did leading up to this year's draft, but he was trending upward. In fact, there was some talk Webb could sneak into the back end of the first round, with one NFL executive telling Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com he believed Webb would one day emerge as the top quarterback of the 2017 class.

"If I were a team like Cleveland," the executive said, "I would take impact players at [pick Nos.] 1 and 12 and then trade back into the bottom of the first round for Davis Webb. I think he will end up being the best quarterback of this draft class."

That didn't come to pass. The talk surrounding Webb turned out to be more bull than buzz, and as Day 2 started winding down, Webb was still on the board.

However, as Giants beat writer Art Stapleton tweeted, just because Reese waited until Round 3 doesn't mean he didn't see a lot to like:

Before we go any further, it's time to tap the brakes. There's a reason Webb fell to where he did. He's a one-year starter with experience mainly in the Air Raid offense—a scheme heavy on short, quick throws that don't require difficult passes or complicated reads.

The biggest Air Raid success story in the NFL to date is Nick Foles.

Ouch.

Also, Webb's accuracy came and went, an issue he told Andy Benoit of the MMQB was mechanical.

"I have to be more consistent with my mechanics," he said. "That's something [former Washington Redskins head coach Jim] Zorn and I have been doing a good job of."

Here's the thing, though: We aren't talking about a quarterback like Deshaun Watson who could be called upon to start games in 2017. Or even a player like Trubisky or Mahomes, who, even if they sit this year, will probably be tasked with starting next season given what their new teams sacrificed to obtain them.

There's no pressure for Webb to see the field any time soon. With Geno Smith also in New York, there isn't even pressure for Webb to back Manning up as a rookie. He can just sit back, grab a clipboard and take it all in.

Webb told the team's website he can't wait to learn from the two-time Super Bowl MVP:

"

"I'm excited to be in the same quarterback room as Eli Manning." - Davis Webb #GiantsDraft

— New York Giants (@Giants) April 29, 2017"

It's also worth pointing out that Manning's more likely to take a third-round pick like Webb under his wing than, say, Alex Smith will be with Mahomes. Smith will say the right things, of course, but Mahomes is a threat to his job. To his livelihood.

Webb's no threat to anyone in New York. OK, maybe Smith. But Geno's biggest problem has been and will continue to be that he's just not very good.

Of course, there's no guarantee Webb will be, either. Many of the compliments paid to Webb were also paid to Syracuse's Ryan Nassib a few years ago.

That didn't work out so well for the Giants.

However, mechanics can be improved. Just because Webb wasn't asked to make reads or long throws in Lubbock or Berkeley doesn't mean he can't—he's a film junkie with aspirations to one day coach. He started that predraft hype train with solid throwing sessions in workouts.

The fact is, there isn't a quarterback in the class of 2017 we know will become a successful NFL starter. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Webb knows he has a lot to prove, per Benoit: "I'm just going to be a sponge. I'm going to be a good teammate. I'm going to be a hard worker, earn my respect first. However long that takes, we'll see what happens. Because every situation is different. You could be The Guy on Day 1. You could be The Guy on Day 761. You just don't know."

Barring a disaster, it's going to be closer to Day 761 before Webb gets a chance to show what he can do in New York. And that's fine. In the meantime, he can learn from Manning and an offensive-minded head coach in Ben McAdoo. Hit the film room. Work on those mechanics.

There's no guarantee Webb will amount to anything in the pros. One thing is guaranteed, though: Manning isn't getting any younger. Like it or not, he's nearing the age where quarterbacks not named Tom Brady start to decline.

Brady might be a vampire, but that's a story for another day.

Whether the G-Men want to think about it or not, the day is coming when a question is going to have to be answered: What will the Giants do after Manning?

To say Webb is the answer is premature. But given what other teams paid (or were willing to pay) to pursue similarly flawed solutions to the same dilemma, you can't fault Reese and the Giants for giving it a shot.