{"id":269660,"date":"2025-08-07T18:36:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T18:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/269660\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T18:36:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T18:36:11","slug":"2026-nfl-draft-new-favorite-to-become-no-1-overall-pick-after-archie-mannings-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/269660\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NFL Draft: New favorite to become No. 1 overall pick after Archie Manning’s comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a fast-moving 2026 NFL Draft<\/a> landscape, LSU<\/a> quarterback Garrett Nussmeier<\/a> has emerged as the new betting favorite to go No. 1 overall — a notable shift sparked by recent comments from Archie Manning, who cast doubt on grandson Arch Manning’s<\/a> early departure from Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Manning’s odds dropped from +450 to +850 on FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a>, while Nussmeier jumped into the top spot at +340 as of Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The market reaction followed Archie Manning’s remarks to Texas Monthly<\/a>, where he strongly suggested Arch would return to Texas for another year rather than declare after his first season as the Longhorns’ starter.<\/p>\n

“Arch isn’t going to do that,” Archie said. “He’ll be at Texas.”<\/p>\n

That tone marks a clear shift from Archie’s comments in December 2024<\/a>, when he said he “hoped” Arch would stay in school. This firmer stance has already impacted both sportsbooks<\/a> and early mock drafts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Arch Manning’s grandfather warns NFL teams planning to tank for Texas QB ahead of 2026 draft<\/p>\n

\n Brad Crawford <\/p>\n

\"Arch<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Nussmeier is coming off a breakout 2024 campaign, finishing second in the SEC in passing yards (4,012) and touchdowns (29) while leading LSU through a smooth post-Jayden Daniels transition. With elite arm talent, experience and a returning core of playmakers, the fifth-year senior has vaulted into the spotlight for both the Heisman Trophy and top draft honors.<\/p>\n

Despite the growing comparisons, Nussmeier had nothing but praise for Manning in July.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, we’re both high-level competitors,” Nussmeier told<\/a> Esports Insider. “We both play for two schools [that] have the same goal. … I’m definitely rooting for Arch. I think he’s a really good player. I love his swagger. I love his confidence, and I’m very excited to see his first season start, and I think he’s going to tear it up.”<\/p>\n

Manning enters the 2025 season as Texas’ full-time starter and a Heisman favorite at +700, with Nussmeier close behind at +900, per\u00a0FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a>. Though Manning has attempted just 95 college passes for 969 yards and nine touchdowns, his pedigree and flashes of dual-threat potential continue to generate buzz.<\/p>\n

Three other quarterbacks currently have shorter odds than Manning to go No. 1 overall: Clemson’s<\/a> Cade Klubnik<\/a> (+380), South Carolina’s<\/a> LaNorris Sellers<\/a> (+380) and Penn State’s<\/a> Drew Allar<\/a> (+470), according to\u00a0FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a fast-moving 2026 NFL Draft landscape, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has emerged as the new betting favorite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[615,5385,843,331,1800,7,1802,9734,7211,6,15,2743,4278,1078],"class_list":{"0":"post-269660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-arch-manning","9":"tag-cade-klubnik","10":"tag-clemson-tigers","11":"tag-college-football","12":"tag-drew-allar","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-garrett-nussmeier","15":"tag-lanorris-sellers","16":"tag-lsu-tigers","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-nfl-draft","19":"tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","20":"tag-south-carolina-gamecocks","21":"tag-texas-longhorns"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114988933845275909","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}