Steelers Now
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning refuted his grandfather Archie Manning’s claim that he was going to forgo the 2026 NFL Draft.
“Arch isn’t going to do that,” Archie Manning told Texas Monthly when asked whether his grandson would enter the 2026 NFL Draft. “He’ll be at Texas.”
On Wednesday, Arch cleared the air on what his plans are.
“Yeah, I don’t know where he got that from,” Arch said. “He text me and apologized about that. I’m really just taking it day by day right now.”
Manning is expected to be the next great quarterback prospect as a member of one of the gold standard football families.
The 21-year-old still has a lot to prove, though. He began his collegiate career as the team’s third-string quarterback behind Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy in 2023.
Manning made his debut during the third quarter of a blowout win against Texas Tech, completing 2-of-5 passing attempts for 30 yards. After the season, he was redshirted.
Manning received a little more action during the 2024 season, completing 61 of 90 passes (67.8%) for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian even announced that Manning would be the starting quarterback against Louisiana–Monroe after a couple of nice performances in relief of the injured Ewers.
The team will be finally be Manning’s in 2025 and many believe he will pick up right where he left off as one of the nation’s best quarterbacks.
Todd McShay of The Ringer has Indiana dual-threat Fernando Mendoza landing with the Steelers at 15th overall in his way-too-early 2026 mock draft. Mendoza continues to be mentioned as a rising player in next year’s draft.
“Aaron Rodgers is a one-year solution, and sixth-round round pick Will Howard looks more like a good career backup than the quarterback of the future. Mendoza isn’t there yet, but I saw a lot of positives — including a snappy release, excellent touch, and a plus arm — in his tape this summer,” McShay wrote.
McShay has four quarterbacks going in the first round — Clemson’s Cade Klubnik to the Cleveland Browns at No. 1 overall, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier to the New York Jets at No. 4, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 and Mendoza to the Steelers at No. 15.
McShay projects that Penn State’s Drew Allar will fall out of the first round, while Manning will not declare for the draft.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com projects the Steelers to have four compensatory picks in the 2026 NFL Draft — one in Round 3, one in Round 4, one in Round 5 and one in Round 6. In total, the Steelers are expected to have 12 picks.
The loaded crop of quarterbacks in 2026 is good news for the Steelers, as they are in desperate need of a franchise QB. The extra picks also give general manager Omar Khan ammunition to trade up in the draft.
Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl thinks the...
