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ESPN Analyst Believes That Arch Manning Is Wildly Overrated

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 3:57 PM ET

No player will enter Week 1 of the college football season with more hype than Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Some people are already crowning him as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

Manning, a five-star recruit from Isidore Newman, started two games for the Longhorns in 2024 due to a Quinn Ewers injury. He completed 67.8% of his passes for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Steve Sarkisian gave his young quarterback the chance to showcase his athleticism last year. With that said, Manning had 108 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries.

During this Wednesday's episode of "Get Up" on ESPN, former SEC quarterback Jordan Rodgers offered his thoughts on Manning's 2025 outlook. Let's just say he's not ready to praise Eli and Peyton's nephew.

Rodgers claims Manning's tape from the 2024 season doesn't warrant all the preseason buzz that he generated.

"I’ll say this — and I don’t know what you guys talked about when I was off-air — the hype doesn’t match the tape. There are some good things, but the tape doesn’t scream first-round draft pick, top-10 pick, No. 1 overall, or Heisman hopeful," Rodgers said. "I think when he goes into Ohio State, he’s going to struggle because he hasn’t played anybody. The last time we saw him against a really good defense was Georgia, and he looked out of place. He looked really good against UTSA, Louisiana-Monroe, and Mississippi State — which was the worst defense in the SEC. There’s still a lot of growth needed and a lot we need to see

Mel Kiper would disagree with Rodgers' comments.

Just two weeks ago, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. revealed that he has Manning ranked No. 1 among all draft-eligible quarterbacks for 2026.

“We put him at No. 1 because we have to. It’s Arch Manning. We saw glimpses last year of the greatness he could provide that Texas offense. Running the football, he’s got great legs. Cooper Manning, his father, was a wide receiver until he got injured. So he’s got speed – something Eli and Peyton didn’t have…” Kiper said. “We don’t know if he will develop into that because he only has 95 career pass attempts… But for right now you have to put him in one.”

"The hype doesn't match the tape."

—@JRodgers11 on Arch Manning pic.twitter.com/NZJoNAaHAD
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 27, 2025

Will Manning declare for the 2026 NFL Draft?

Earlier this year, ESPN insider Adam Schefter let NFL fans know that Manning isn't a lock to go pro in 2026.

“First of all, there’s no guarantees that Arch Manning’s coming out after next year. It sounds like he certainly could be staying beyond next year,” Schefter said. “I’m not a collegefootball 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.”

Arch's grandfather, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, recently told Texas Monthly that his grandson wouldn't declare for the draft.

The truth is Manning probably hasn't thought about the draft because he has to see how this season plays out first. If he doesn't light up the competition this fall, there's no reason for him to leave Texas.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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