Gettleman: Giants are “going to take the best player” at No. 2

There is a widespread assumption that the New York Giants, drafting higher than they have since 1981, will use the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to find an heir apparent to quarterback Eli Manning.

New GM Dave Gettleman said Wednesday at the Senior Bowl that he might do that. Then again, he might not.

“With the second pick, we’re going to take the best player,” he said. “They screamed at me in Carolina [where he was GM for four years], ‘You’ve got to draft a tackle, you’ve got to draft a tackle.’ If the value’s not there when you pick, you’re going to make a mistake. You’ll make a mistake. We’re going to set ourselves up so that we can take the best player available. And if the best player available is a quarterback, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

Gettleman added: “If you take a guy just to take a guy, especially at the quarterback position, and he fails, you set yourself back five years. You set yourself back five years because there are teams that are in what I call quarterback hell. They’ve got quality defense, they’ve got good special teams, and they’re going 7-9, 8-8, 9-7. And now if there is a legitimate guy, they’ve got to trade up and give away the farm to get the guy.”

Could 2016 third-round pick Davis Webb be the long-term answer to replacing Manning? Gettleman opened up the “why didn’t the previous coaching staff get him on the field?” can of worms with his response.

“I know nothing [about him],” Gettleman said. “I know that he’s a double transfer. I’ve spent some time talking to him. He seems like a great kid. I know he followed Eli around and is learning how to be a pro. That’s what I know.”