{"id":264089,"date":"2026-04-24T08:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/264089\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T08:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:04:18","slug":"next-years-nfl-draft-could-be-all-about-arch-manning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/264089\/","title":{"rendered":"Next year’s NFL Draft could be all about Arch Manning"},"content":{"rendered":"

As soon as this year\u2019s NFL Draft ends, the attention shifts to Arch Manning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Manning \u2014 the Texas Longhorns<\/a> quarterback and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning<\/a> \u2014 appears poised to be the prize of 2027\u2019s tantalizingly deep QB draft.<\/p>\n

And his status as a blue-chip prospect is about much more than his royal (football) bloodlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 6-foot-4, 220-pounder has impressive physical tools and overcame some early-season processing bumps,\u201d ESPN draft guru Matt Miller wrote of Manning<\/a> in a recent 2027 lookahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can dial up velocity on his throws or layer the ball deep over the top, while also showing the strength and agility to be an effective runner. He\u2019ll be regarded as the No. 1 quarterback prospect and perhaps the No. 1 overall player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manning, the son of Cooper Manning, is set to be a redshirt junior. He is entering his second season as Texas\u2019 full-time starter.<\/p>\n

Going into last season, many pegged Manning as the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n

But amid that hype, Manning struggled early on in 2025, losing against loaded Ohio State and lowly Florida while throwing five interceptions in his first five games.<\/p>\n

Manning\u2019s play improved dramatically as the season went on, and he finished the year with 3,163 passing yards, 26 touchdowns against seven interceptions, 399 rushing yards and 10 more TDs on the ground.<\/p>\n

He was at his best in the Longhorns\u2019 Citrus Bowl win over Michigan, passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 155 yards and two scores.<\/p>\n

Manning then opted to return to Texas for 2026<\/a>, even though some analysts believe he would have been the first QB taken in this year\u2019s draft \u2014 even over Heisman-winning Fernando Mendoza, who just led Indiana to a national championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I developed a lot this year, especially toward the back half,\u201d Manning said in December. \u201cI want to keep it going. There\u2019s no reason to leave. I think I\u2019ve got a lot more football left to play, and I\u2019m excited to still be a part of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much can change in 12 months, and Manning does technically have another year of NCAA eligibility after this one. But should he go No. 1 overall, Manning would be the third member of his family to be the first pick in an NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

The Indianapolis Colts took Peyton Manning first overall in 1998, while the San Diego Chargers did the same with Eli Manning in 2004 before trading him that same night to the Giants. Of course, both won two Super Bowls, with Eli spending his entire 16-year career with the Giants.<\/p>\n

Arch Manning is much more of a dual threat than his superstar uncles, and by the end of last season, he was among the most productive passers in the country.<\/p>\n

He currently headlines a star-powered 2027 QB class that is also expected to include Oregon\u2019s Dante Moore, Ohio State\u2019s Julian Sayin and South Carolina\u2019s LaNorris Sellers.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s draft is considered much lighter at quarterback \u2014 Mendoza is the only QB viewed as a premium prospect \u2014 which is why several teams plan to address the position in 2027<\/a> rather than in 2026.<\/p>\n

With another season of development, Manning could be even more in-demand this time next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a young man who\u2019s gotten better as the season\u2019s gone on, and not only physically, but mentally, maturity-wise,\u201d Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said in December. \u201cI would think he\u2019s going to want another year of that growth to put himself in position for hopefully a long career in the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As soon as this year\u2019s NFL Draft ends, the attention shifts to Arch Manning. Manning \u2014 the Texas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3230,132,134,133,32681,31548,6422,6183,10065,537],"class_list":{"0":"post-264089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-arch-manning","9":"tag-austin","10":"tag-austin-headlines","11":"tag-austin-news","12":"tag-eli-manning","13":"tag-giants","14":"tag-jets","15":"tag-nfl-draft","16":"tag-peyton-manning","17":"tag-texas-longhorns"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}