{"id":325433,"date":"2025-08-29T01:56:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T01:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/325433\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T01:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T01:56:37","slug":"mel-kiper-makes-prediction-on-arch-mannings-2026-nfl-draft-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/325433\/","title":{"rendered":"Mel Kiper makes prediction on Arch Manning’s 2026 NFL Draft status"},"content":{"rendered":"

All eyes are on Arch Manning<\/a> entering the 2024 season, and things couldn\u2019t start off with a more challenging opponent. Up first is Ohio State<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NFL Draft analysts expect to see a lot in that contest, though there will be plenty of other chances to evaluate Manning this offseason. But will Manning even be a 2026 NFL Draft prospect?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s been up for serious debate this summer, after comments from Archie Manning<\/a> and a bit of a back and forth from Arch Manning himself<\/a>. To one notable ESPN NFL Draft analyst, Manning probably should stay in school for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mentioned Mitchell Trubisky<\/a>, Trey Lance<\/a>, Mark Sanchez<\/a>, Anthony Richardson<\/a> \u2014 you want a quarterback to have those 24-plus starts,\u201d Mel Kiper said on Get Up<\/a> on Thursday morning. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to get to that number. So I don\u2019t expect him to be in this draft. That\u2019s not the Manning way.\u201d<\/p>\n

For all the hype and the hoopla, Arch Manning has yet to show much in actual games. He\u2019s been plenty competent in relief of Quinn Ewers<\/a> the last couple years, but it\u2019s been limited action.<\/p>\n

Manning has thrown for 969 yards and nine touchdowns, against just two interceptions. He\u2019s also run for 108 yards and four scores.<\/p>\n

So, how much will the Ohio State game start to set the narrative about Arch Manning as a potential 2026 NFL Draft prospect? Well, assuming that\u2019s the route Manning takes, it\u2019ll offer insight\u2026 but that\u2019s probably it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not all about this game in terms of the evaluation process. He\u2019s still a young quarterback,\u201d Kiper said. \u201cThis is maybe his third start, first against a big-time opponent, who happens to be the defending national champions, who have a ton of pride. It\u2019s on their field at high noon, with Matt Patricia<\/a> as the new defensive coordinator taking over for Jim Knowles<\/a>, who\u2019s now at Penn State.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd people say, \u2018Well, they lost eight starters, this defense is not very good.\u2019 Kenyatta Jackson Jr.<\/a> is a great defensive end. Sonny Styles<\/a> is a heck of a linebacker. Caleb Downs<\/a> is a great safety and Jermaine Matthews<\/a> the lockdown corner. There is talent galore for Matt Patricia to work with at Ohio State this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, it\u2019s expected to be tough on Arch Manning this weekend. That gives him room to exceed expectations. But it also provides a potential platform for growth over the next year or two. It\u2019s a starting point in what figures to be an intensely scrutinized college career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All eyes are on Arch Manning entering the 2024 season, and things couldn\u2019t start off with a more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5242,7,6,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-325433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-arch-manning-23-isidore-newman","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115109572388506955","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325433","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=325433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}