Arch Manning is gearing up for his first season as the Texas Longhorns’ starting quarterback. The Isidore Newman High School product has paid his dues as a backup to Quinn Ewers, and he’s now set to be the QB1 for one of the powerhouse programs in collegiate football.
Manning played 10 games in the 2024 college football season, including two starts. He amassed 939 passing yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Manning’s poise, athletic gifts and football heritage have some fans tipping him to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
However, NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein thinks otherwise. The NFL.com analyst wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter):
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“Arch Manning has played in 9 games over 2 years with just 2 starts and has thrown just 95 total passes. Peyton Manning & Eli Manning both played four years of college ball. NIL is making college QBs multi-millionaires. Why do people think Arch is going to be in the 2026 draft?”
After a fan commented about NFL money being a potential reason for Manning entering the 2026 NFL Draft, the analyst said:
“You think that family needs money? You think he’s going to be making less than 5M per year at Texas with salary and NFL and total sponsorships? If it’s about money, he could make 8-10M per year. The Mannings are about titles and not paper chasing.”
The Texas Longhorns reached consecutive College Football Playoff semifinals with Quinn Ewers. Scouts, analysts and fans seem optimistic that they could even do better with Manning on QB1 duties.
Arch Manning could headline a phenomenal 2026 QB draft class
Arch Manning will be eligible to declare for the NFL draft at the end of the 2025 college football season. He’s one of at least five elite quarterbacks who could enter the NFL draft.
Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Penn State’s Drew Allar, UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers are also eligible for the draft. All of the players mentioned above play for CFP contenders, and they’re well-positioned to improve their draft stock ahead of the season.
Allar is fresh off leading the Nittany Lions to last season’s CFP semifinals, while Iamaleava helped the Tennessee Volunteers to their first-ever playoff berth. Nussmeier, Klubnik, and Sellers will fancy their chances of guiding their programs to deep postseason runs.
Other notable QBs to watch are Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, Miami’s Carson Beck and Georgia Tech’s Haynes King. They’ll look to improve their draft stocks by excelling in 2025.
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Edited by Krutik Jain
