Giants coach Ben McAdoo: It's not Eli Manning's job to develop Davis Webb

The Eli Manning era, during which the Giants won two Super Bowls, is beginning its final run. Not only is Manning 36 now, but the Giants are also beginning preparations for a new era. They made that much clear when they used a third-round pick on ex-Cal quarterback Davis Webb last week.

But the Giants aren't expecting Webb to be groomed by Manning. On Tuesday, coach Ben McAdoo said that Manning's job isn't to develop Webb into an NFL quarterback.

"Eli needs to do his job, he needs to focus on getting ready to go out and play at a high level this year and be a good teammate like he always is,'' McAdoo said, per the New York Post. "I'm sure the young guy is going to have some questions for him, but it's not Eli's job to get anybody ready to play this season and it's not Eli's job to go out and develop another quarterback. That's not his job description. His job is to prepare and perform.''

That's a refreshing perspective. And to be fair to Manning, it doesn't mean he's not a leader. It doesn't mean he's selfish. It's just the reality of the situation. Manning doesn't want Webb to take his job. Manning wants to hold off Webb as long as possible. And if that happens, if Manning somehow pulls a Tom Brady and performs at a high-enough level into his 40s, that would be good news for the Giants as well.

But that likely won't happen. Manning is already slowly declining, evidenced by his 6.7 yards per attempt last year. Manning's always been a streaky and clutch passer, so it's not out of the question for him to lead the stacked Giants on another deep playoff run, but there's no doubt that the Giants made the right move to plan for the future.

And Webb has a chance to eventually develop into a starting-caliber quarterback. Though he lacks the attributes to see the field immediately (he needs to adapt to an NFL offense after spending his college years in spread systems), he also has the tools to succeed in the long term. He has the arm to beat NFL defenses and the athleticism to survive the rigors of the NFL. Furthermore, as everyone who knew him made clear to me when I profiled him before the draft, he has the work ethic required.

Webb isn't going to fail for a lack of effort and by joining a good team with an already good quarterback in place, he'll have the time he needs to develop. The Giants already indicated that they believe Webb can take over for Manning, but not for another two or three years. That's good news for Webb.

This is what Sonny Dykes, who coached him at Cal last year, told me when I asked him about Webb's chances to succeed at the next level:

"I think it all depends on what organization he goes to," Dykes says. "I think that his success, a lot of it is going to depend on that. That's just the way it works. That's the way, unfortunately, this stuff goes. If he has an opportunity to go to New Orleans and work with Sean Payton and watch Drew Brees then what a great opportunity, what an invaluable experience. If he's got to go someplace else and he has to play early and takes his lumps early … it's a different experience. But he's still going to benefit from that experience as well, assuming everybody doesn't turn on him immediately.
"That's the bad thing about the NFL. If you don't throw six touchdowns the first week, you're labeled a failure and everybody turns on you. I think he would, like any quarterback, be very fortunate to go and have a chance to learn behind somebody and come along slowly."

So, the draft worked out pretty well for Webb, even if Manning doesn't directly involve himself in his development. And hey, that strategy worked out pretty well the last time it involved an ex-Cal quarterback.

Just ask Aaron Rodgers. Here's what Brett Favre said after the Packers drafted Rodgers, via "Gunslinger," by Jeff Pearlman: