The expectations heaped on young quarterbacks in the NFL is always interesting to watch, because there's a sliding scale. If you are a first-round pick, expectations are very high. Second-round picks have fewer expectations, and third-round picks even less, until said third-round pick is taken by a team in New York.
For instance: the Jets took Geno Smith and Christian Hackenberg in the second round in recent years, but both are getting the first-round treatment. The Giants just drafted Davis Webb out of Cal with their third-round pick and he's getting the "future heir to Eli Manning" treatment without anyone having seen him play.
Giants owner John Mara, appearing on the "Rich Eisen Show" on Tuesday, said even though he signed off on New York taking Webb, people should pump the brakes on those expectations.
"Well I am in the room with [GM Jerry Reese] and I do give the final approval to everybody we take. But I was hoping we would take a quarterback at some point. I've always held a belief that you can never draft too many of them," Mara said. "I think it's a little premature to be anointing this guy as the heir apparent to Eli -- he hasn't set foot on the field yet. But he's got a lot of talent and we're looking forward to seeing what we've got when he gets here. But as Bill Parcells used to say, let's not get his bust ready for Canton.
"He's a talented guy but let's let him get on the field, let's let him play in the preseason and develop and if he's the successor that's great, but if not we'll find somebody else."
This is a very logical approach to the position. Seriously, think about the equity involved in each quarterback here.
Cody Kessler goes in the third round to the Browns and he's a surprise pick, someone who Hue Jackson likes, but there aren't the expectations for him to be the franchise quarterback. The Saints took Garrett Grayson and no one is wondering if he's the future franchise quarterback behind Drew Brees. The Rams drafted Sean Mannion in the third round in 2014. No one blinked.
But if the Giants take Webb in basically the same spot, everyone is looking to heap the expectations of following a likely Hall of Fame quarterback in Eli. That's crazy and it's unfair. It's also just part of the media market in New York and the position that Webb plays.
Fortunately for him, he's got an owner willing to take a level-headed approach to the position.