Former QB Calls Out 'Insane' Arch Manning NFL Draft Prediction

SEC Media Days continue. Soundbites have been drawn, bulletin board material posted, and coach speech compliments have been exchanged.

While fans thought trash talk could arise between players, the comments so far have only stemmed from an ESPN analyst who took to College Football Live to air his grievances on Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers, who was a quarterback at Vanderbilt during his time in college, is not completely buying into the hype surrounding Manning, unlike his colleague Paul Finebaum.

Arch Manning Not Top 5 QB in SEC?

Rodgers said on College Football Live that he doesn't believe Manning should be the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft despite what many have predicted. Rodgers doesn't even have Manning as one of the three-best quarterbacks in the conference, instead ranking LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, Florida's DJ Lagway and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers in the top three, respectively.

“But let’s address the elephant in the room, I have Arch Manning at fifth in the SEC when it comes to quarterbacks, when a lot of the media and a lot of the landscape of college football is talking about him being a top 10 or a No. 1 overall draft pick next year. I think that is insane," Rodgers said.

Rodgers believes Manning can be the quarterback he has been expected to be since his high school career, when he was already touted as the next sure thing. Finebaum even went one step further and said Manning is the best college football quarterback since 2006, with Tim Tebow.

However, Rodgers isn't quite there yet with his colleague.

“The question I have is the limitations of his talent and where that puts his ceiling,“ Rodgers said. "Because I think Quinn Ewers, from an arm talent perspective, much more talented. Quinn could throw in a phone booth; off platform, sidearm. Arch, I think, when he’s in rhythm and on platform, I think he’s really good. I worry about when there’s noise going on around him."

"He struggled against Georgia when there was guys in his face. I get it, first year, you’re going to struggle against Georgia. I’m not putting it all on that. I just think the good, we saw were against really bad defenses last year. And there’s still a lot of question marks about how good he can be."

Some might even agree with Rodgers, saying if Manning was so talented, why did he not start over Ewers last season? This is a fair argument, but one that should not come at the cost of what Manning can be and the praise that has been given to him by coaches and players around the SEC.

For Manning, having a track record of one critic for every five analysts in your corner, you must be on the right track. Manning is just settling into his first role as a starter. To draw criticism for a player who is just getting his feet wet is jumping the gun, but Manning will have him time to prove the doubters wrong, and those in his corner -- more specifically himself -- right in just under two months.