Wednesday mini-camp takeaways: Davis Webb, Eli Manning, reading the draft tea leaves

The New York Giants held their second day of voluntary mini-camp practices on Wednesday. Let’s go through some of the takeaways.

Davis Webb’s day

Wednesday morning, Davis Webb told media that he felt he didn’t have to prove himself during the team’s voluntary mini-camp. “All I’ve gotta do is show what I’ve got,” Webb said.

In practice a couple of hours later, Webb showed off just a bit. After missing a few throws early in practice, the second-year QB was on target during red zone work. In two sessions, he threw three touchdown passes, two to tight end Jerell Adams and one to wide receiver Travis Rudolph. All were nicely placed balls. The first one especially, placed low and away from a defender at the goal line where only Adams could make a play.

Fast-twitch? Eli Manning? Huh?

Don’t call Eli Manning an old quarterback. At least not to his face.

“Thirty-seven is not old,” Manning said on Wednesday. “I think 37 is young, so it’s all perspective.”

Manning has never been known for his athleticism, so hearing him talk Wednesday about working on his “fast-twitch” movements was sort of funny.

“Just trying to – most of the work is on just getting my feet moving fast. Just keep my fast twitch movements in line with where they need to be,” Manning said. “As you get older, those can decrease, so just work hard on working on my fast twitch movements.”

What did Pat Shurmur learn from watching his QBs on Tuesday?

Media availability was held before practice. So, when head coach Pat Shurmur spoke the only work he could judge was from the first day of practice. What did he learn about his quarterbacks?

“Well first, with Eli [Manning], this guy’s a pro. So, what you noticed about him is you only have to run a play or two and he gets the drill calibrated and he gets his feet right and he makes the throw. I quickly, after being with him one day on the field, see why he’s been so successful for so long. He’s a pro. And I admired what he did yesterday in the first time out. So, that’s first Eli,” Shurmur said. “And then with Davis, you see his size, he’s got excellent arm strength. I think he moves around real well and it’s just a matter of just smoothing things out. So, that’s what you’re trying to get as you go through kind of a pattern, or kind of a sequence of practices.”

A draft hint?

Shurmur wasn’t going to go anywhere near giving away what the Giants might do Thursday night in Round 1 of the 2018 NFL Draft. “We have a strong opinion of the players that we really like and we would consider picking,” is all he would say.

Shurmur, however, did give a glimpse into what kind of quarterback he prefers.

“I fancy guys that are tall. You can see. Some of us are challenged in terms of height, so even in a setting like this, you’re trying to find sight lines. It’s no different for a quarterback when he is behind a very tall offensive line,” Shurmur said. “All else being equal, as long as all the skillsets are equal or maybe even a little better than equal, guys that can see have a chance to be very good.”

Kareem Martin — new team, old defense

Kareem Martin played for defensive coordinator James Bettcher with the Arizona Cardinals. The Giants are running the same defense Bettcher ran there, and that is easing Martin’s transition to the Giants.

“It’s been really helpful, especially in the transition. Coming from the West Coast to East, it can be really tough. Especially trading teams, not really knowing anyone,” Martin said. “But having Coach Betch [Defensive Coordinator James Bettcher] here and having this defense, it takes a lot of pressure off myself, to having to learn people and learning a defense. So, I think it’s been really helpful for myself and I think it’ll be beneficial for the defense, me being a guy that they can lean on when they have questions about the defense or any of the schemes, I’m comfortable with answering any questions.”

Other practice observations

Honestly, not a whole lot to report.

• Cornerback Eli Apple had a couple of pass breakups. The second one, when he knocked a nicely thrown ball from Eli Manning away from Cody Latimer, drew a big reaction from Apple’s fellow defensive backs.
• Odell Beckham Jr. worked a little on the side and ran a couple of sideline-to-sideline sprints.
• Romeo Okwara, like Olivier Vernon, is working with the linebackers. He got stuck lined up on a wide receiver a couple of times. That’s a matchup Giants fans should hope they don’t see in a real game.
• Damon Harrison was again not in attendance. Shurmur said he has spoken to the defensive tackle and “there’s no real issues there.”