Webb workout won’t change draft strategy
Davis Webb can’t prove much, sporting shorts and no pads.
Before the second-year quarterback took the f ield for the f irst time in front of Pat Shurmur, the first-year head coach made it clear that Webb’s future with the Giants — and the decision to draft a quarterback with the second overall pick in Thursday’s NFL draft — won’t be affected by how he performs at this week’s three-day minicamp.
“There has been a lot that has been made of this is like his tryout. Well, I don’t think so,” Shurmur said Tuesday. “I don’t think there needs to be any anxiety on his part — get trained up, come on out here, let it rip, and mistakes happen in practice and you learn from them.
“I think that’s why you practice, so I think you have to be careful about making a final evaluation on a guy in a three-day period here. He just needs to come out here and get as good as he can be.”
Webb fumbled one of his first snaps — Eli Manning later did, too — threw an interception and failed to connect on three deep throws, though the 23-year-old also connected on a well-placed ball across the middle to Jerrell Adams.
When practice f inished, Webb stayed behind with backup center Ethan Cooper to work on extra snaps. When Webb went back home, he likely studied the new offensive system with wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who lives in the same building.
“I’m fortunate to have him with me,” Shepard said. “I go over the plays with him every night. He’s a guy that studies really hard. … He’s been in here the whole offseason, so I try to surround myself with guys like that and just work tremendously hard. That’s all you can ask from a guy in his position.
“He knows the new offense, I wouldn’t say like the back of his hand, but he knows it pretty well.”
Though last year ’s t hi rd - ro und pi c k didn’t take a single snap during the team’s disastrous 3-13 campaign, Shepard has seen enough of Webb in practice to believe the quarterback can eventually succeed Manning as the Giants starter.
“I don’t see why not,” Shepard said. “If he works hard and keeps doing what he’s doing and has the same attitude, I don’t see why not. He’s been learning a lot from Eli and what better guy to learn from than Eli.”
Shurmur acknowledged he would learn more about Webb’s current standing this week, but the coach also said he learned more about him during meetings in recent weeks.
“What I’ve learned is he cares, what I’ve learned is he is an extremely hard worker, what I’ve learned is he is very smart, he listens to what Eli says, he listens to what all his coaches have been telling him,” Shurmur said. “You can tell that he has learned things as time has gone along and I think what is important now is you take what you learned in the meeting rooms and bring it out here to the field.
“There’s just that feeling you get by watching a quarterback move the offense. Now, there’s not going to be a lot of that type of competitive stuff going on, but you can tell by the way a guy runs a huddle, the way he gets the offense lined up, the way he drops back and throws, the way he hands the ball off. Just all the things that a quarterback would do. And I think this is hopefully the first of many days of him developing within our system.”