New York Giants Offseason: Reviewing the Quarterback Position

2017 Depth Chart

Eli Manning – 61.6% comp, 3,468 yards, 19 TD, 13 INT (signed through 2019)

Geno Smith – 58.3% comp, 212 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (unrestricted free agent)

Davis Webb – N/A (signed through 2020)

2017 Review

Eli Manning did not have his best season in 2017, even without including the fact that he got benched. Had Manning played against the Raiders, he still wouldn’t have reached 4,000 yards, which he had done the previous three seasons. He also had thrown at least 26 touchdowns for three straight years but couldn’t even get to 20 last season (he likely would have had he played in Oakland).

Manning did eclipse 61% completion for the fourth straight season, which is good. That stat becomes even more impressive when you consider the receivers he was throwing to by the end of the season. Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall were both lost for the season in Week 5 and Sterling Shepard missed time, playing in only 11 games.

Stuck with the likes of Roger Lewis, Tavarres King, and Travis Rudolph, Manning did the best he could.

Geno Smith got the call when Ben McAdoo decided to bench Eli to get a look at the “future”. He was the man who ended Manning’s consecutive starts streak, but Smith’s streak never got past one.

After McAdoo was fired, interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo reinserted Manning into the starting lineup for the remainder of the season.

In Smith’s one game, he played okay but pretty much showed that he was what we thought he was; a somewhat reliable backup and nothing more. He avoided throwing an interception but played far from a clean game. Smith still turned the ball over twice, losing fumbles both times he was sacked.

When McAdoo said that the Giants were going to get a look at the “future” after benching Eli, most expected that to be rookie Davis Webb. However, the third-round pick never saw the field. In fact, Webb did not even suit up until Week 17.