Cal has put a quarterback into the NFL through the draft for another year, after Davis Webb was selected 87th overall by the New York Giants. Webb was the fifth quarterback selected in the draft, after Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes, and Deshaun Watson Thursday, and DeShone Kizer earlier Friday.
Webb was a graduate transfer to Cal last year, switching his commitment to the Bears after being committed to Colorado, and had a monster season with the Bears. He finished the 2016 campaign with 4295 yards, with 37 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, completing 61.6% of his passes. Webb developed a rapport with both freshman WR Demetris Robertson and breakout star Chad Hansen, as Robertson became a freshman all-American and Hansen became an all-Pac 12 receiver and draftable prospect as the group came together.
Webb won the Senior Bowl MVP as well on his way to the third round selection. He trained with former NFL QB and Washington coach Jim Zorn during the spring, working his way up the draft board to this point after a solid combine performance as well, with a 4.79 40 (5th among QBs), 33" vertical (tied for 3rd among QBs), 5th in the broad jump (9'10"), 4th in the 3-Cone Drill (6.92 seconds), and 3rd in the 20 yd shuttle (4.21 seconds).
Webb now goes into a situation where he gets to learn behind Eli Manning, who's currently going into his 13th season in New York. He has about as good of an arm as you're going to get in the draft, throwing deep balls to Hansen and Robertson on multiple occasions. Webb has to shed a couple labels, that of a spread quarterback, another of uneven feet, and one more of a slower release. His release improved by the Senior Bowl, getting quicker out of his hand.
Webb joins former Bears Shane Vereen and Darius Powe with the Giants.
A couple quotes from Davis:
What were your initial thoughts about being drafted by the Giants?
“I was all over the place emotionally. I was obviously very excited, my whole family was and close friends, they were pretty pumped when they heard my name got selected. I was very happy when coach McAdoo called me. Again, I’m just very excited to be a part of such a great organization, and I’m looking forward to being up there.”
What are you looking forward to the most, aside from being in the same QB Room as Eli
“Learning a new playbook and trying to be a good teammate and just working hard. I’m just very thankful for getting drafted tonight, and I’m really looking forward to going to New York, a new place to live. I’ll have been in three different time zones now, and just looking forward to that opportunity.”
