Arch Manning is perhaps the most renowned legacy prospect on the college football stage, and his eventual NFL Draft ascent is already a topic of interest. When will Manning be eligible for the NFL Draft, and are first-round expectations already reasonable?
When Will Texas QB Arch Manning Be Eligible for the NFL Draft?
Manning will be eligible for the NFL Draft at the start of the 2025 college football season. At that point, Manning will have accrued two full years of experience at the CFB level.
The 2026 NFL Draft, by extension, is the first draft event in which Manning will be eligible to partake. He is not eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft and must return to college football after the 2024 campaign.
Manning was a consensus five-star recruit and the No. 1 overall talent in the 2023 high school class. He achieved early stardom as a standout at Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans — the city where his grandfather Archie Manning distinguished himself in the NFL.
Arch’s prestige was only magnified by his status as the Manning patriarch’s grandson and as the nephew of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and two-time Super Bowl champion QB Eli Manning.
Arch’s uncles — Peyton and Eli — were both selected first overall in their respective drafts. Time will tell if the younger Manning can follow their example.
What is Manning’s NFL Draft Projection?
To this point, Arch Manning has only thrown 23 passes at the CFB level in relief of Texas’ starter Quinn Ewers. That number will go up as Manning notches his first start against UL Monroe this coming week, again in relief of Ewers.
Regardless, the sample size for Manning as a true dropback quarterback is very small. This makes his evaluation rather complicated at this stage. What we do know is this: In his small sample size, Manning has only stoked the excitement that came to him naturally.
Thus far in 2024, Manning has completed 14 of 18 pass attempts for 318 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He’s also scored two touchdowns on the ground as a runner.
Simply put, Manning’s efficiency as a producer in such a small sample size has been tantalizing. But operationally, it’s clear that he’s not quite as refined or as disciplined on-schedule as Ewers has become with two years as a full-time starter.
Nevertheless, raw talent is a strength for the younger Manning. At 6’4″, 225 pounds, he fits the prototypical QB mold that his uncles did, and he has a level of athleticism and mobility that they lacked. He can produce on the ground, he can work off-script, and he can throw off-platform with his arm elasticity.
Manning’s arm strength might not be elite, but he still has more than enough to drive the ball down the field and layer pace and touch on throws. That talent will be the underpinning factor of any Round 1 ascent, but Manning’s heavy NFL background may also put evaluators at ease.
All this being said, Manning’s NFL Draft projection and ascent is still very far in the future, even if he thrives as a short-term starter. The earliest he can enter the NFL Draft conversation is in 2025 — with other up-and-coming talents like Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava.