Quarterback Arch Manning hasn't even started a full season for the Texas Longhorns and pundits are already pegging the redshirt sophomore as the projected No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 NFL Draft.
On the surface, that seems ... premature, at best. We've yet to see Arch truly live up to his considerable hype just yet, and he and his family have all attempted to quash any "fast track" expectations. (After all, uncle Peyton played all four years at Tennessee before turning pro.) But there is still one plausible scenario in which we could see a Manning back in the NFL for the first time since 2020.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer broached the possibility of Manning declaring for the draft next year if one team in particular held the No. 1 overall pick. That team, the New Orleans Saints, has a very tight familial connection as well.
Could Arch Manning declare for the 2026 NFL Draft if his grandfather's Saints hold the No. 1 pick?
Archie Manning, Arch's grandfather, spent nearly 12 seasons as the quarterback for the Saints and is widely viewed as one of the greatest at his position to never find championship success. It would be a rather full-circle moment for his grandson to continue his legacy after more than 40 years.
Though, Breer made sure to qualify any of that potential storyline with evidence to the contrary.
"I don’t think Arch Manning intends to declare for the 2026 draft," he wrote in his mailbag on Thursday. "There is, of course, history with his uncles exhausting their college eligibility before becoming No. 1 picks, as well as the track record of how he and his immediate family have handled his career in an old-school manner. There’s also not enough to go on, outside of physical ability, to deem him first-pick worthy at this point."
But he also admitted that the hometown return and legacy-building could be enough to entice the young Manning to break his family's trend of exhausting college eligibility before jumping to the NFL.
In 10 appearances last year, the 21-year-old put up 939 passing yards and was responsible for 13 total touchdowns behind starter Quinn Ewers. He earned two wins on his own when the latter went down with injury.
There's still a lot Manning has to prove on the gridiron before he's likely considered NFL-ready, but this season could be a launching point for his development. Without a doubt, however, there are plenty of NFL teams keeping tabs on his progress for no matter when he eventually declares to go pro.