Teams find potential replacements for Pro Bowl quarterbacks
Eli Manning has never really had a backup quarterback to groom. We’re not going to count Ryan Nassib here, either. That changed on Friday night when the New York Giants added former CAL quarterback Davis Webb with its third-round pick.
Webb is seen as a project after excelling in Sonny Dykes’ spread offense at Berkeley. Though, he had received first-round buzz heading into the draft. This gives New York a clear line of line of succession for when Manning ultimately decides to hang them up.
Alex Smith might not make the decision to retire here soon, but the Chiefs found his successor after trading up for Pat Mahomes in the first round on Friday. Most of this will depend on Mahomes’ progression under center and his ability to go away form questionable techniques, but it would not be a surprise if Smith’s last season as the Chiefs’ starter was in 2017.
Kansas City yielded a first and third-round pick to move up for Webb. You don’t exhaust that capital without planning on starting the player in the near future.
It’s a little bit of a different situation in Pittsburgh. It was bandied about that Ben Roethlisberger might retire this offseason. Ultimately, the former Super Bowl quarterback decided to return for another season. How much longer Big Ben plays is anyone’s guess.
It’s in this that Pittsburgh added former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs in the fourth round on Saturday. He’s definitely a project and will likely compete with Landry Jones for the No. 3 spot behind Big Ben and Zach Mettenberger. But there’s surely starter potential in the former Volunteer. With Big Ben showing him the way, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Dobbs eventually become a starter in the Steel City.
Most of the focus in this draft was on the quarterbacks teams traded up for in the first round. But there ended up being some solid depth at this position. New York and Pittsburgh took advantage of that by adding potential long-term starters.