Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning has just two career starts under his belt and has yet to eclipse the 1,000-yard passing mark for his career, yet NFL teams are already discussing the possibility of tanking for him.
As revealed in a recent report by The Athletic, teams are enamored by the potential prospect that Manning can be with his huge arm and speed that has seen him eclipse 20 miles per hour. So much so that discussions of the Cleveland Browns tanking in 2025 to draft him in the 2026 NFL draft have already begun.
With fans and teams expecting the youngest Manning to follow in his family's footsteps, with his grandfather Archie Manning and uncles Peyton and Eli Manning all having tremendous NFL careers, they may have to put all tanking plans on hold. As revealed by ESPN's NFL insider Adam Schefter on Thursday's "Get Up," it's not for sure that the Texas gunslinger will leave after one year.
"First of all, there's no guarantees that Arch Manning's coming out after next year," Schefter said. "It sounds like he certainly could be staying beyond next year. I'm not a college football insider, but none of the Mannings ever went out early, and I don't know with NIL money being what it is why Arch would do that. So, all of this conversation about 'tanking for Arch next year,' he could be in the draft in 2027, not even next year."
Even without Manning the 2026 class will still likely be stronger than this year's, but if he is to live up to expectations, certain staffers of NFL teams that are banking on him being in next year's class may not be around for 2027. However, as we have learned throughout his career, Manning has long wanted to be a Longhorn, and his loyalty to the program has never wavered.
So, it is hard to imagine that he waited two years behind Quinn Ewers to simply just leave after one year of being the starter. On top of that, to Schefter's point about NIL money, Manning has the highest NIL valuation in all of college sports at $6.5 million, so returning to Austin may only boost that.
It's safe to say that this can serve as a warning to those teams centering their plans around him.
Related: Urban Meyer Names Three 'Landmine' Games for Arch Manning, Texas
Related: Jon Gruden Sends Strong Message on Quinn Ewers
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This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 12:24 PM.