DraftKings, as well as some other sportsbooks, have Arch Manning as the player with the best odds to become the No.1 draft pick in the 2026 NFL Draft if he declares following the 2025 season.
Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier, and Cade Klubnik are the next quarterbacks in line, with a surprising amount of defensive players right behind them:
- Arch Manning (+200)
- Drew Allar (+225)
- Garrett Nussmeier (+450)
- Cade Klubnik (+1800)
- T.J. Parker (+2500)
- Keldric Faulk (+2500)
- Caleb Downs (+2500)
- LaNorris Sellers (+3000)
- Carson Beck (+3000)
- Jayden Maiava (+3500)
- Dante Moore (+3500)
- Spencer Fano (+4000)
- Miller Moss (+4000)
- Harold Perkins Jr. (+4000)
There are a lot of people who are hesitant about Arch's projections for the 2025 season based on the simple fact that he hasn't "done anything" yet. Though he hasn't started a full collegiate season, when he was on the field in 2024, he was by far the best player out there. This is the main reasoning for the current hype. It's one thing if he had just been "pretty good" against lower competition, but Manning embarrassed every Division 1 athlete on the defensive side of the ball when he was in the game.
He completed 83.9% of his pass attempts against Mississippi State and pretty much had the Bulldog defense looking like a middle school team for most of the matchup. He had another big game against UTSA, who had former 4-star cornerbacks in the secondary.
When you combine his passing ability with his overall speed and athleticism, it's not hard to see why the professionals have him leading the pack in terms of players with the best chance to be drafted first in 2026. Though it hasn't been 100% proven, there's a rumor going around that Arch has told family and friends that he wants to start two full seasons at Texas. This would obviously mean that he wouldn't be declaring until 2027.