Arch Manning Draws Surprising QB Comparison from Insider Amid 2027 NFL Draft Hype

It would be easy to compare Arch Manning to Peyton and Eli Manning with the 2027 NFL draft approaching seeing how they are his uncles, but the Texas quarterback is drawing other comparisons ahead of what could be his final season with the Longhorns.

After Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated spoke to an assistant general manager who pointed to Justin Herbert as a potential pro comparison, he went on The McShay Show and discussed other projections with draft expert Todd McShay (58-minute mark).

"I'm going to give you another comp that I heard for him," Breer said. "That, like is going to sound like a shot and it's not, okay? But somebody gave me this the other day that I thought it was interesting.

"Now you saw the one that I had there was Justin Herbert, if things work out the right way. As far as like where he is right now, somebody said Justin Fields to me. And I thought that was really interesting, you know?"

Manning is widely seen as a top draft prospect and someone who could be a franchise cornerstone for whichever team selects him, so the comparison to Fields is going to stand out to many.

ARCH 60-YARD TD RUN

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After all, Fields never lived up to expectations at the NFL level and is 16-37 in his career as a starter for the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets. 

Yet there was a time when he, too, was seen as a top draft prospect after leading Ohio State to the national championship game. He ended up being the No. 11 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft.

"As a guy who can make plays off schedule, who when everything is right, and his first read has opened the plays going as it was drawn up, like he can make the throws, he can make the plays, he's a big strong athlete, you see all of the tools there, right?" Breer said. 

"I think the mistake that a lot of people are making with him, just from, and again, I'm not an evaluator, I feel like I have to give that disclaimer, but this is based on the people that I'm talking to, is that this is like Peyton or Eli with athleticism, and that's not what this is, you know? And I've heard people say this before, after talking to some people I respect around the league, I'd agree with it, this guy seems to be more like his grandfather than his uncle."

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected Manning as the No. 2 overall pick in an early 2027 mock draft. 

Ideally for Manning, he would land in a better situation than Fields did with a Bears team that had a poor offensive line, a lack of playmakers on the offense, and Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus as his two coaches. That certainly didn't help his development early in his career, although issues holding onto the ball too long and moving past the first read hindered him as well.

Manning still has another year of college football to prove himself after completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions while adding 399 yards and 10 scores on the ground as a runner.

But he will be playing that collegiate season under quite the spotlight as NFL teams evaluate his every move before the highly anticipated 2027 draft arrives.