2017 NFL Draft: The 49ers Should Explore Cal Quarterback Davis Webb

Cal quarterback Davis Webb should be on the San Francisco 49ers radar in the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft.

The San Francisco 49ers need a quarterback, but taking one with the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft is going to be a bit of a reach.

Teams do this all the time — buy into the hype surrounding a prospect signal-caller and either draft him too high or trade up to acquire him. Just look at what happened with the Philadelphia Eagles and Carson Wentz, as well as the Los Angeles Rams and Jared Goff, who went No. 1 overall in 2016.

Goff’s replacement at Cal, Davis Webb, should be someone on the Niners radar though.

For those not familiar with Cal football, Webb transferred to Berkeley from Texas Tech in advance of his senior year. And it was certainly the right move to make, taking over for Goff and in a starter’s role under former head coach Sonny Dykes’ system.

Webb completed 61.6 percent of his passes in 2016, just one percent lower than his freshman collegiate-high mark. But both his yardage (4,295) and touchdown totals (37) easily surpassed any previous highs he enjoyed at Texas Tech.

Take a look at the rest of his numbers, courtesy of Sports Reference:

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 1/22/2017.

Solid numbers within an increasingly difficult Pac-12 Conference.

Davis Webb Draft Profile

At 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds, Webb certainly has the build to be an effective NFL quarterback. He’s not a dual-threat QB though, so the Niners would be getting the traditional pocket passer all those anti-rushing-threat analysts want to see out of the position.

Webb certainly has the arm strength to make NFL-caliber throws.

Heck, even one NFL scout told NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah:

"I didn’t have high expectations for Webb. I thought he would be just a system type guy, considering where he came from. After studying him, I was shocked. He’s really good. He’s bigger than (Jared) Goff and he has a much better arm. He makes some rare throws."

Better than Goff. And Goff went No. 1 overall last year.

Webb won’t be a first-round pick. And there are a few reasons we can see why.

As noted, he’s not overly mobile within the pocket. And the tendencies, likely carried over from time at Texas Tech, have turned him into somewhat of a gunslinger.

Hopefully these are coachable problems to address though.

Where the 49ers Bite

Unlike Goff, Webb won’t be a first-round pick. Heck, he probably won’t even be a day one or day two pickup.

According to CBS Sports, Webb is a tweener pickup between Rounds 4 and 5.

Here’s a good thing to consider though, at least in terms of value. Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller recently listed Webb as the draft’s best sleeper pick at quarterback.

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This is what makes a Webb-to-49ers pickup later in the NFL Draft so enticing.

The Niners could look to draft a QB earlier if the value was there, let’s say someone like Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes in Round 2. But adding a second developmental signal-caller — especially one who has been touted as having a bigger arm than Goff — later in the draft makes a lot of sense too.

And if that pickup takes place early in Round 5, the value couldn’t get any better for San Francisco.

Next: 2017 NFL Draft: 49ers Quarterback Big Board

So that’s why Webb is on the radar for the Niners as a late-round option.