July 21, 2026, 4:00 p.m. PT
Texas Longhorns quarterback and presumptive 2027 No. 1 overall pick Arch Manning has spent the past year fielding comparisons to some of the biggest names in football, from his uncles Peyton and Eli to the top of next year’s draft board. But one analyst believes the more accurate blueprint for the Texas quarterback’s career already played out in California
Emory Hunt, appearing on the Ross Tucker Podcast, said Manning’s game most closely resembles Alex Smith’s — not the finished product who played 14 NFL seasons, but the raw, athletic prospect who arrived in the Bay Area as the No. 1 overall pick in 2005.
“The best comp for him, for me — and I’ve been on this for two years now — is Alex Smith,” Hunt said. “And people forget how Alex Smith was at Utah, that made him a No. 1 overall pick. He was a dual-threat athlete, big-body guy. And then he started to find his sea legs when he got with [former 49ers head coach Jim] Harbaugh and they put a system around him and he was able to have the best success before he went on and had even more success in his career. So I feel like he’s more Alex Smith than what everybody else is trying to make him out to be.”
Smith’s early years in San Francisco were rocky, but his career turned once Harbaugh arrived in 2011. Smith posted threw for 3,144 yards and 17 touchdowns against just five interceptions on 61.3% completion while leading the 49ers to a 13-3 record and the NFC Championship Game. Over his full tenure with San Francisco, Smith threw for 14,280 yards with 81 touchdowns and 63 interceptions across 80 games. That’s the trajectory Hunt sees for Manning: a physically gifted quarterback who needed the right structure to unlock his talent.
Manning, who has generated buzz as a potential top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, is coming off his second full season as Texas’ starter. Whether he ultimately profiles as a franchise passer or a system-dependent starter in Smith’s mold remains one of the more debated questions heading into his draft evaluation.
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