Davis Webb, Former Cal Bear QB, Taken in Third Round by Giants

Cal Bears quarterback Davis Webb is off the board, and he’s headed to the Big Apple

For the second consecutive year, a California Golden Bears’ quarterback has been drafted. This year, signal caller Davis Webb was picked by the New York Giants in the third round as the 87th overall pick.

Webb was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft, following number two overall pick Mitchel Trubisky (North Carolina to Chicago), number 10 pick Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech to Kansas City), number 12 pick Deshaun Watson (Clemson to Houston), and number 52 pick DeShone Kizer (Notre Dame to Cleveland).

Webb played one season at Cal after graduating and transferring from Texas Tech. While a Red Raider, Webb lost his starting role (due in part to a laundry list of injuries) to Mahomes, who was picked 77 spots ahead of Webb. In three seasons at Texas Tech, Webb hit on 61.4 percent of his throws (459 completions in 747 attempts) for 5,557 yards, along with 46 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

More from Golden Gate Sports

After Jared Goff declared for the draft a year early after the 2015 season, and was subsequently picked first overall by the Los Angeles Rams, Webb made the choice to transfer to Cal despite early reports that he would be headed to Colorado. In his lone season with the Bears, Webb had one of the most prolific seasons statistically in school history.

He completed 382 passes in 620 attempts, both school records, and threw for 4,295 yards, second-most in a single season behind Goff’s 4,714 yards in 2015. His 37 touchdowns are also second-most to Goff, who threw 43 scoring strikes in his final year with the Golden Bears. He also threw 12 interceptions, and a defense that couldn’t hurt a fly equaled a 5-7 record for the Bears.

Webb becomes the seventh Golden Bear quarterback to be picked in the first three rounds of the draft. Each of the previous six, however, were first round selections. He joins Goff, Aaron Rodgers (2005), Kyle Boller (2003), Rich Campbell (1981), Steve Bartkowski (1975), and Craig Morton (1965).

With the Giants, Webb will have a chance to sit and develop behind current starter Eli Manning. A two-time Super Bowl winner and MVP, Manning isn’t getting any younger as he turned 36 years old back in January. Still, Manning is a productive passer, having surpasses 4,000 yards through the air for the third straight season in 2016. He is also the NFL’s current iron man at his position, having made 199 consecutive starts at quarterback (211 if the postseason is added in) for the Giants. Manning is 16 games behind his brother, Peyton Manning, for the second-longest streak at the position ever, and 110 games behind the all-time iron quarterback, Brett Favre.

Webb joins a Giants’ quarterback group that also includes Josh Johnson, Geno Smith, and Keith Wenning.

Next: Shorthanded Bears Bounced in NIT

The newest Giant is off the board, but his favorite target from 2016 is still available after three rounds, to the surprise of some. Chad Hansen was a breakout star in the Pac-12 last season after his college career got off to a slow start. He led the Pac-12 with 92 receptions and 1,249 yards, and was fourth in the conference with 11 scoring grabs.

Home/Cal Bears