Two SEC QB’s ahead of Arch Manning in early NFL Draft rankings

While Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is the pre-season pick by many to win the Heisman Trophy and win SEC Offensive Player of the Year, a lot of NFL scouts aren’t  quite sold on Manning.

As many know, both of his uncles, Eli and Peyton, were first-round draft picks coming out of college, but according to some NFL experts, Manning may not even be the top quarterback in the SEC.

According to AtoZ Sports their draft experts have both Garrett Nussmeier of LSU and LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina ahead of Manning.

Nussemier is receiving praise because of his strong arm, and Sellers is a dangerous dual-threat quarterback who can beat you with his arm or his legs.

Although they are ahead of Manning on this list, he is still ranked as the No. 4 best quarterback coming out of college next year.

But the reason why Manning is fourth is that most don’t think he is even coming out next year. 

“Some say the Arch Manning hype is inflated. That his limited time against less-than-stellar competition at Texas last year has the expectations set far too high. I beg to differ. Sure, is a lot of this projection due to the name on the back of the jersey? Undoubtedly. But if his name was Arch Johnson, would the fact that he’s in the area of 6’4”, close to 230 pounds, with 4.5-second forty-yard dash speed make him less intriguing? Or the fact that at only 20 years old he is refined from head to toe mechanically? I don’t think it would.

There is a strong chance that Arch doesn’t even declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. The Manning’s don’t have a history of being “one and done” in college. However, if Arch is everything his potential suggests, he’s a slam dunk number one overall pick as early as next spring.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports. 

This year’s draft was kind of a down year for quarterbacks, but next year’s draft may produce some of the best quarterback talent the NFL has seen in a while.