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All the way back in 2004, rookie No. 1 overall pick Eli Manning replaced Kurt Warner as the New York Giants' starting quarterback nine games into the season. The Giants have played 198 regular season games and 12 postseason games since, and Eli has started under center for every single one of them. 

He's been so consistently available that the Giants haven't really had to worry about what's next at the quarterback position for 12-plus seasons. Eli turned 36 years old last winter, though, so the team now sees the writing on the wall. That's why they selected California quarterback Davis Webb in the third round of the draft on Friday night. 

According to general manager Jerry Reese, the plan is for Webb to sit and learn behind Manning for a while before eventually taking over. 

"We think [Webb] has a high ceiling and can come in and learn the pro game," Reese said, per the New York Post. He continued, "Hopefully, he can sit behind Eli for two or three years."

The Giants considered themselves lucky that Webb was still available in the third. In fact, they didn't even have head coach Ben McAdoo meet with Webb during the pre-draft process because they thought it was a waste of time. "I thought he would be gone at this point," VP of player evaluations Marc Ross said. "To me he wasn't one of the guys that was a priority for Ben to meet."

McAdoo knows it's tough to groom a future starter when the guy currently in the job is always there, and he knows it will be a challenge to get Webb live experience before he eventually has to take over. "Reps are tough to come by," McAdoo admitted. "We just need to get him in here and throw as much at him as we can and see how he handles it."

Rare is the quarterback succession plan that actually works out as designed, but the Giants are going to give it their best shot anyway.