Charlie Campbell
|
|
Arch Manning Prospect Preview
By Charlie Campbell
Career Recap:
Manning was a highly hyped prodigy for years before he started his college career at Texas. As the nephew of Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, Arch Manning was one of the most highly coveted recruits in college football history. He picked Texas and initially was a backup to Quinn Ewers. He saw his first significant action in 2024 when Ewers was out with an injury. Manning completed 68 percent of his passes (61-of-90) for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had four rushing touchdowns. After the season, Texas gave the starting quarterback spot to Manning after they pushed Ewers out, urging him to enter the transfer portal or the NFL Draft.
To open the 2025 season, Manning struggled against Ohio State before beating up on some weak opponents. He underwhelmed in a loss to Florida, but rebounded with a solid performance to beat rival Oklahoma. In late October, the Longhorns were way down in the third quarter to Mississippi State, and Manning led a comeback win in overtime. Manning concluded the season with solid performances against Georgia, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Michigan. In 2025, Manning completed 61 percent of his passes for 3,163 yards with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He had 10 rushing touchdowns.
2026 Season Outlook:
Manning will see many quality opponents in 2026. The first tough test will come in their second game against Ohio State (Sep. 12). Other tough games include Oklahoma (Oct. 10), LSU (Nov. 14), and Texas A&M (Nov. 27).
Prospect Summary:
There is no doubt that Manning has the skill set to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Obviously, Manning has a great pedigree and has been brought up in football culture as part of a famous NFL family. However, Manning inherited the physical talent necessary to play at the highest level as he has a good combination of height, weight, and athleticism.
Manning can be a dangerous pocket passer with the arm talent to be a capable starting quarterback in the NFL. He has quality accuracy at all levels of the field and throws a good deep ball. Manning shows the ability to rip a fastball into a tight window and loft passes downfield to layer his throws between coverage. While Manning may not have a Josh Allen-type cannon, he has plenty of arm strength to make all the throws required in the NFL, and he throws a pretty deep ball with good timing and precision to drop in throws downfield. Manning will lead his receivers to yards after the catch and has good ball placement. Manning can function out of the pocket, but he throws well on the run and can make off-platform throws as well. With good poise and composure, Manning stands tall in the pocket and throws in the face of the rush. Manning has definitely been groomed to be an effective pocket passer.
On top of his pocket passing ability, Manning has some mobility to dodge pass rushers, and he can hurt defenses on the ground. Manning can pick up yards as a runner when nothing is open, and he can hurt defenses on designed runs. Manning won’t be a Lamar Jackson-type runner as a pro, but he can avoid the rush and pick up yards on the ground.
There are things for Manning to improve for the NFL. Manning could stand to get faster at working through his progressions. Some of this could be the design of the offense, but often Manning seems to lock onto one side of the field and will watch his primary read. Getting more reps and experience should help Manning to progress in his field vision and reading of coverage
From a physical skill set and style of play, Manning reminds this analyst of Trevor Lawrence at Clemson. Manning looks capable of being a franchise quarterback in the NFL.
2027 NFL Draft Expectations:
Entering the 2026 season, Manning looks like a high first-round prospect. Check out my latest 2027 NFL Mock Draft to see where Manning is projected.
RELATED LINKS:
Fantasy Football Rankings - June 12
2027 NFL Mock Draft - June 9
NFL Picks - Feb. 9
NFL Power Rankings - Jan. 26
Walt