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Arch Manning would be the top pick in the 2026 NFL draft if he were to declare for it, according to ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky.
Last season, Manning stumbled early with losses to Ohio State and Florida but bounced back in the second half of the season, culminating in a Citrus Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines.
Despite the rocky start, Orlovsky believes Manning has shown enough to be the #1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft if he chooses to declare for the draft this year.
“Arch Manning is kind of like the throwback 1970 quarterback with modern-day training and nutrition,” Orlovsky began. “I’m a huge fan of this guy. He’s physically, remarkably gifted. He’s intelligent when it comes to the football understanding of speed and space, all that. I think he’s wired the right way. When you watch him on a sideline, he’s ultra-competitive. I think he’s weathered a lot. He’s going into the NFL, or when he does, he’s gonna have weathered so many different storms. And we know that’s a huge deal.”
“So many different finger-pointings and adversity and hype and falling short and getting punched and getting backed up. You got to have that skill. You have to have that trait to be elite outside of the physical things,” Orlovsky explained. “And so, yeah, he would be the number one runaway, runaway.”
.@danorlovsky7 says Arch Manning would be the “runaway #1 pick” if he declared for the 2026 NFL Draft 👀 pic.twitter.com/HIAxqIZbwD
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) January 7, 2026
Orlovsky isn’t the only football analyst who believes Manning would go #1 overall. Yahoo Sports draft analyst Nate Tice went viral for his comments about the Texas QB last month.
“Arch Manning, if he were to declare, would be the number one pick. I’m not hot taking this right now. I’m dead serious. He is playing really good football, and I know people see the endgame stuff and all that. Tools body of work, he’s the whole freaking offense at Texas”
In a text message to ESPN’s Dave Wilson on Monday night, Arch’s dad, Cooper Manning, said, “Arch is playing football at Texas next year.” Texas officials told ESPN the full expectation was that Manning would be back next season, even though Manning could have declared for the NFL draft as a redshirt sophomore.