Manning is widely seen as one of the top quarterback prospects in the upcoming draft, but is he No. 1?
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning has the upcoming college season to firmly establish himself as the No. 1 prospect ahead of the draft.
Granted, there are those who thought Arch did that last season after he threw for 3,126 yards, 26 TDs and seven interceptions.
But it was Arch's dual-threat ability that hurt teams, rushing for 399 yards and 10 TDs to further bolster his standing in college football, which was evidenced by his 155-yard, 2-TD game on the ground against Michigan in a 41-27 win in the Citrus Bowl.
So Manning has all the tools to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL, and with several mock drafts already out, some have Arch going No. 1 to the Arizona Cardinals or even No. 2 to the New York Jets.
We often say where you get drafted to matters, and for Manning, there is a real chance he goes to a struggling NFL team that will view him as their savior, and with a last name of Manning, that makes sense.
But there are a host of great quarterbacks in the class along with Arch, with Dante Moore of Oregon seen as the one who Manning will battle it out with for the No. 1 pick title.
Of course, that is purely subjective as one person might like one thing Arch does better than Moore or vice-versa.
But two ESPN analysts and draft experts are all-in on Arch.
Both Matt Miller and Jordan Reid, in ranking prospects at each position and giving their top five, have Arch at No. 1 and Moore at No. 2.
So, they appear to be set on Manning as the best quarterback prospect to come out of this draft class.
Of course, last season, which saw Arch lead Texas to a 10-3 record after a shaky start, likely already cemented his status among the upper echelon of talent, but if he can repeat that, and even look better than he did last season, I'd imagine that there will be no doubt as to who is the favored No. 1 pick of the draft.
Even if for some, it's already Manning anyway.
