Texas QB Arch Manning isn’t just hype anymore – he’s the No. 1 quarterback on the latest NFL Draft preseason big board
On Thursday, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson released his Top 50 preseason big board for the 2026 NFL Draft. The college football analyst gives his thoughts on the best players in the sport and where he thinks they will land next April when the draft kicks off from Pittsburgh.The Texas Longhorns are well represented among the […]
On Thursday, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson released his Top 50 preseason big board for the 2026 NFL Draft. The college football analyst gives his thoughts on the best players in the sport and where he thinks they will land next April when the draft kicks off from Pittsburgh.
The Texas Longhorns are well represented among the Top 40 prospects – putting Arch Manning at No. 9 and Anthony Hill Jr., at No. 40.
Here’s what Wilson had to say about Manning and why he thinks he’s a Top 10 player despite playing sparingly his first two years at Texas.
“I love Manning’s game.”
“OK, let’s have the Arch conversation. He played in two games last season against middling competition,” Wilson said. “He threw two interceptions against Louisiana Monroe in his first extended action, and the next week, he was really good against Mississippi State.
“But if his name was, say, Archibald Manningham, and the physical tools, the mental makeup — everything other than being born a Manning — were the same, we’d be talking about him as a tools-y Day 2 prospect, maybe even a late Day 1 talent as we sit here. I know, it’s hard to suss out the part about him being a Manning.”
“Would he be QB1 in this class were he to come out? Of course.”
“In some ways, it’s the exaggerated version of Drake Maye from two years ago — a tools-y high-round talent who grew up in a family full of competitors and winners,” Wilson said. “And that separated him from other talented players who didn’t have the benefit, or the exposure, of being around high-achieving, laser-focused athletes his entire life.
“But maybe that’s overthinking it. Put another way: I love Manning’s game and I’d be perfectly content to put him No. 1 here based mostly on pedigree but also those handful of snaps from last season,” Wilson said. “Plus, history tells us he probably won’t leave school for the draft after the season.”
“…looks like a future face of the franchise if everything falls into place.”
“And if that’s the case, I’d rather not spend time talking about Manning over the next five months only for him to announce he’s headed back to Austin for the 2026 season,” Wilson said. “Would he be QB1 in this class were he to come out? Of course. Would he be the first player drafted if the draft were held tomorrow? Yeah, almost certainly.
“But for my preseason big board, I worked from the premise that he’s probably not coming out. I’m trying to treat him like a typical high-upside redshirt sophomore who, despite limited reps, looks like a future face of the franchise if everything falls into place … even if we all know Arch is anything but typical when it comes to his past, present and soon-to-be future.”
This is quite the prognostication. Wilson has Manning as his No. 1 quarterback even though it is unclear if he is declaring or not. Most have Clemson’s Cade Klubnik or Penn State’s Drew Allar up there as the top-ranked quarterback for the NFL Draft. But, Wilson is sticking to his guns and is putting the Texas quarterback at the top of the position group.
Wilson even goes as far to say if he knew Manning was going No. 1 he would most likely be going No. 1 overall over Clemson’s Peter Woods. But, as we know from last week, Manning has played coy with whether or not he will declare.
But, the fact he is two spots ahead of LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, six spots ahead of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, and 43(!) spots ahead of the aforementioned Klubnik shows just how much belief Wilson has in Manning.
Or it could be shotgunning the hype Kool-Aid. We will get our first look at the potential future star Saturday at 11am CT versus Ohio State.
