There are tons of speculations on what the New York Giants will do with the second pick in the draft. If they go with a quarterback, where does that leave Davis Webb?
Some feel the New York Giants will take Penn State running back Saquon Barkley who looks to be a special talent that only comes around once in a decade. Others believe they will look to trade down and acquire more picks to rebuild the offensive line.
But the consensus belief is that they will take a quarterback and have him sit behind Eli Manning for a year or two and then take over the reigns as the starting quarterback.
Prior to him being fired as general manager, the Giants had Jerry Reese travel to California to watch the November 18th matchup between UCLA and USC so that he could scout quarterbacks, Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold.
So that tells you how long President and co-owner John Mara has thought about taking a quarterback in the upcoming draft. After all the Giants talented pass catchers, Odell Beckham Jr, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram are all under the age of 26. So the Giants want to make sure they have a talented quarterback that can get them the ball for years to come.
So where does that leave backup quarterback Davis Webb who the Giants took in the third round of the 2017 draft?
It’s hard to envision a scenario where the Giants have the 37-year-old Manning, being backed up by a rookie, and Webb who hasn’t taken a snap in a regular season game.
So rumors are beginning to swirl that the Giants will look to trade Webb for a mid or late round pick. One of the teams that could be a possible suitor for Webb is the New England Patriots.
With Jimmy Garappolo now in San Francisco, the Patriots do not have a successor to Tom Brady on their roster. So Webb could be a guy the Patriots have their eyes on.
The Patriots have a history of trying to mold quarterbacks who weren’t taken at the top of the draft (Brady 6th round, Garappolo 2nd round, Jacoby Brissett 3rd) into being a starting quarterback.
Although he didn’t play in the regular season, Webb did complete 8 out of 14 passes for 103 yards in the Giants fourth preseason game against the Patriots, and we know how Bill Belichick pays close attention to every detail.
The draft is still a little over two months away and a lot can happen between now and then but the Giants trying to trade Webb is something to watch for.
As for which quarterback the Giants will take with the second pick, I believe it will be Josh Rosen unless the Browns take him at with the first pick. That is unlikely since he expressed his feelings for not wanting to play for Cleveland. Here are my rankings of the top five quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
- Josh Rosen, UCLA—He has pinpoint accuracy and is the most NFL ready quarterback in the draft. He completed 62.6 percent of his passes despite playing behind a shaky offensive line.
- Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma—Although the Big 12 hardly plays defense, any time you throw 43 touchdowns and only have six interceptions that impressive. The Heisman Trophy winner also lit up Ohio State and Georgia’s defenses last season.
- Lamar Jackson, Louisville—Dual-threat quarterbacks like Jackson don’t come around often. Last season Jackson threw for 3,660 yards and added 1,601 more on the ground. If he’s in the right system, he has the biggest upside of anybody on this list.
- Sam Darnold, USC—While his 63.1 percent completion percentage is something to marvel at, his 22 turnovers last season is a major concern, especially the nine fumbles he had. If he had a hard time holding onto the ball playing in California, what’s going to happen if he goes to a cold weather team?
- Josh Allen, Wyoming—He played very well in the Senior Bowl completing 9 out of 13 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns, but playing in a small conference and completing just 56.3% of his passes last season will scare off general managers.
