New York Giants: Pat Shurmur must develop Davis Webb

The New York Giants drafted quarterback Kyle Lauletta over the weekend, but head coach Pat Shurmur must work to develop Davis Webb as a future starter.

Rookie quarterback Kyle Lauletta should not take a single meaningful snap for the New York Giants this year, regardless of what anybody has to say about the matter, his upside or how well he looks during training camp sessions and practices. After all, there are good reasons Lauletta, who played in four offensive schemes in college, fell to the Giants in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft. He has plenty of promise, sure, but he’s a project who needs to be nurtured and even protected in the early stages of his pro career.

Meanwhile, there’s Davis Webb, the prospect who turned 23 years old in January and who was selected in the third round of last year’s draft by a front office and coaching staff that is no longer associated with the Giants. One may, thus, quickly assume current New York head coach Pat Shurmur, who has a reputation for being a quarterback guru, would want to replace Webb with Lauletta.

This is both silly and unnecessary, and not only because of the perception that Shurmur and others within the organization remain high on Webb. For better or for worse, Webb sat and learned behind Eli Manning and Geno Smith during an unofficial red shirt season, and the plan is for Webb to once again be a spectator and student as Manning starts 16 contests and, ideally, guides the Giants back to the postseason.

Before you get overly excited about draft grades and reactions gushing over the Giants landing Lauletta on Saturday, spend a few seconds trying to name Super Bowl champion quarterbacks drafted by teams in the fourth round or later. In short, Lauletta may have to be historically good if he is to make it in the NFL. Sitting him for two years could benefit him in the long run.

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By using the No. 2 overall pick of this year’s draft on running back Saquon Barkley, general manager Dave Gettleman and his staff worked to improve the 2018 roster, they gave Manning a needed weapon and, just as noteworthy, they told the football world that they did not believe Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen or any signal-caller not named Baker Mayfield was worth such a high investment. To the Giants, none of those men were worthy of replacing Manning come 2019.

That’s important, as it is likely, if not guaranteed, Manning will not be with the Giants beyond this coming season. Unless Manning accepts a significant pay cut, the team will save millions upon millions of dollars in cap space by moving on from the two-time Super Bowl MVP before the franchise spends money on younger talents like superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and safety Landon Collins. Meanwhile, Lauletta may, realistically, not be prepared to accept the keys to a championship-caliber offense 16 months from now.

Shurmur developing Webb into a quarterback who can, at worst, manage games and limit unforced errors, may be the only way he, Gettleman and everybody else building the roster keep their jobs for longer than a couple of years, especially if any of the first-round quarterbacks other than Mayfield prove to be stars before 2020. Fair or not, New York fans and the local media will expect Webb to be a hit right out of the gates assuming he enters the lineup next September.

Theoretically, the Giants could go out and spend money on a veteran if Webb isn’t where or who the team hopes he will be next March, and Big Blue doesn’t possess a top-tier draft pick that could be used on a quarterback. That money should be spent on other positions up through at least the end of 2020 when Webb’s rookie deal ends. Using it on Manning or some other proven commodity isn’t part of the process.

Next: 2019 NFL Mock Draft: Way too early projection for next year

Shurmur has a lot on plate before coaching in his first exhibition game. He’s being asked to win, potentially as much as ten times, in year one. He needs to get the most out of Barkley and also keep Beckham happy. He has to show the Giants didn’t waste a pick on Lauletta. Perhaps atop that list of tasks is developing a third-round quarterback he neither drafted nor signed into somebody capable of taking over for the franchise’s greatest to ever play that position.

To quote Thomas Carlyle: No pressure, no diamonds.