The Texas Longhorns will finally turn QB1 duties over to Arch Manning this season after two years of mounting anticipation. Many believe this should have happened sooner, however. Quinn Ewers spent the last two campaigns leading the Longhorns offense under center. He led Texas to the College Football Playoff and put up some appealing surface-level stats, but many felt that Ewers was far too erratic — and substantially less talented than Manning.
While this is a pretty cut-and-dry case of Steve Sarkisian prioritizing Ewers' experience over Manning's raw abilities, some NFL fans are apparently second-guessing Manning as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft because he spent two years behind Ewers, unable to win the job.
That's silly — it was never really a competition, as Sarkisian expressed undeterred faith in Ewers — but in the realm of NFL scouting, silliness is commonplace and logic can be hard to come by.
Ewers disappointed in his preseason debut for the Miami Dolphins, completing only 5-of-18 passes for 91 yards. Here are a few potential Arch Manning landing spots with front offices just bad enough to pass on a generational talent with generations of NFL pedigree because he didn't start for a top SEC school as a redshirt freshman.
New York Jets
It feels like the New York Jets are on the right path after wholesale changes this offseason, but it remains to be seen if Justin Fields can actually lead a contending team — especially in a place as cursed as East Rutherford. Aaron Glenn is also a first-year head coach with a lot to prove. Plenty of highly-respected coordinators turn out ill-prepared for the top job.
Should the Jets finish near the bottom of the standings (again), it would be malpractice not to zero in on Manning as their next franchise quarterback. He's not Justin Fields as a runner, but Manning is plenty comfortable extending plays outside the pocket and creating with his legs. As far as arm talent is concerned, it's Manning by a mile. The Jets being able to claim Eli Manning's nephew with the Giants in the same building would only be gravy on top.
And yet... mistakes are the name of the game for the Jets front office historically. Darren Mougey was a qualified hire and he has done a nice job rebuilding this roster in Glenn's image as a coach. But there are countless examples of young GMs trying a little too hard to leave their imprint on a team. Jets ownership looms large over everything, too. Woody Johnson is no stranger to hamstringing his team with ill-fated power grabs from up top. The Jets fumbling their shot at a proper, franchise-defining talent would be a little too on brand.
New Orleans Saints
Arch Manning's grandfather and namesake was drafted No. 2 overall by the New Orleans Saints back in 1971. So much has been made of the family connection here and the Saints are the worst team in the NFL on paper. It almost feels fated.
And yet, this Saints front office has invested significant draft resources into the QB position in three straight drafts. Between Tyler Shough, a second-round pick (but a fifth-round talent), Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, it feels like New Orleans will eventually stumble into a signal-caller they like. And it would be all too like the Saints to get a decent rookie season out of 25-year-old college football journeyman Tyler Shough and decide that he is the man long term, even at the expense of Archie Manning 2.0.
This would be an absolute nightmare for New Orleans fans, many of whom are already operating under the assumption that Manning will be donning a Saints uniform eight months from now. But nightmares turn into reality all the time, and Mickey Loomis has gone a long while without proving that he can still build a competitive football team. The Saints' taste in quarterbacks is questionable at best and one has to wonder if Manning's (not really that) complicated path to QB1 status might deter them from making the "obvious" pick.
Cleveland Browns
The Final Boss of wayward front offices, we can almost never trust the Cleveland Browns to make the simple, correct decision. This team desperately needs a clear direction at quarterback, and yet somehow there are five different options already on the roster. Cleveland added two quarterbacks through the draft in Dillon Gabriel (third round) and Shedeur Sanders (fifth round), along with two veterans via free agency in Joe Flacco and via trade in Kenny Pickett. Deshaun Watson is still on the roster rehabbing from his latest knee injury, too.
The Browns' cloudy QB room probably won't clear up by next season. Sanders looked fabulous in his preseason debut, but it's hard to put absolute faith in the 144th overall pick — even one who many thought might be the No. 1 pick not that long ago. Watson is still stupidly expensive, despite being awful in more ways than one, and Cleveland appears to be operating under the misguided objective of being a competitive team as soon as possible.
Manning feels like an answer to the prayers of a long-suffering Browns fanbase — one that has suffered through the likes of Johnny Manziel, pre-breakthough Baker Mayfield and Deshaun Watson. That is precisely why it feels so possible for the Browns to second-guess Manning for all the wrong reasons and pass on him, because this front office will bend over backward to avoid landing the "right" quarterback.