Coming into the 2025 season, it was all but the consensus opinion that Arch Manning was the top QB in the 2026 NFL draft. After being a highly touted five-star recruit out of high school, the 2025 season was finally Manning’s time to take over the starting quarterback job at Texas. He had played sparingly before this season, but the flashes scouts saw on film were enough for the expectations to be sky high. But Arch was given the responsibility of living up to the family name, a nearly impossible task.
Arch Manning is the son of the only Manning brother not to play in the NFL, Cooper Manning. Everyone in the NFL community knows the names Eli and Peyton Manning, and they may even remember the name of their father, Archie Manning, who played in the 1970s and ’80s. Cooper Manning was a great football player himself, but ended up having to retire due to an injury before the start of his college career at Ole Miss, just like his dad and brother, Eli. Now, his son Arch is next in line to carry on the Manning name in the NFL.
The 21-year-old Arch Manning entered this season with the weight of the world on his shoulders, carrying on the family legacy, and being widely seen as the top pick in the NFL draft. The start of this season did not go as expected, and the internet went up in flames as Arch Manning watched his draft stock nose-dive. His struggles started to pile up; it was clear Arch had developed a mental block, and it felt like everything unraveled in Texas’s loss to Florida in the swamp.
He seemed poised for a bounce back after a great performance against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, but when he hit a wall again against Kentucky, it appeared that his fate was sealed. Nothing was happening in rhythm, and Manning was clearly panicking and not processing what was happening right in front of him. Everyone knew he had the tools to be an elite NFL quarterback, and the roadblocks for Manning were mounting inside his head.
Steve Sarkesian remained confident in his young quarterback and did not shy away from letting him work through his struggles. The Texas offense continued to rely on Arch, and Sark continued to put Arch in position to make big plays in big moments. Manning stepped up, and it really felt like he hit a turning point against Mississippi State when he helped lead the Longhorns to a dramatic overtime win.
Manning stepped up again against 9th-ranked Vanderbilt and led Texas to their biggest win of the season. The offense struggled against a dominant Georgia defense, but the box score did not tell the full story, as Manning really looked comfortable and confident. Finally, Manning came out this week against Arkansas and flashed exactly what made scouts so excited about him coming into the season.
It wasn’t perfect, but Manning delivered some incredible balls, at all three levels, including several impressive deep passes from in the pocket where he showed great touch and confidence in his arm. He posted six total touchdowns, with four passing, one rushing, and one receiving, leading Texas to another big SEC win. It was an incredible performance for a kid whom so many people had counted out after not meeting his unearthly expectations at the beginning of the season.
He proved that while he may not be ready for the NFL just yet, fans should not count him out too soon, and he still has those skills that made him a top prospect to start the season. I have Arch graded as QB 2 in this year’s class, and while he is very likely to return to school, I think, because of how thin this year’s QB class is, he could be drafted very highly due to his traits alone. He sits just below Dante Moore, and his potential could make him a top 10 pick if he declares this year, however unlikely that may be.
This season, Manning has surely seen the discourse surrounding him all over the internet, but he has kept his head down, battled, and has impressively bounced back. He was truly set up for failure, on the biggest stage with expectations that almost no one could live up to. But now, Arch is playing to his own standards, and he has played his way back into the conversation of being a top QB prospect in 2027.
