Turf Show Times
The L.A. Rams have 2 shots at a first round QB and Arch Manning is already the biggest name in the draft
We have a long ways to go before making any possible connections between the L.A. Rams and Texas quarterback Arch Manning, but there are two narratives going on that deserve a little bit more attention and need to be brought down to earth:
Although I agree that Manning could have good reason to stay in college in 2026, mostly because he has barely played during his first two years in Texas and we don’t even know yet if he’s great, it gets a little annoying when the entire media narrative of every podcast and article about him is now changed to “Manning won’t declare”.
If Manning has a superb junior season and is bookmarked to be the number one pick in 2026, he would be an idiot to not declare. So much can go wrong in a year that Arch Manning must take advantage of any opportunity to be a high draft pick if it happens in 2026.
On the Rams end, they might have relatively great odds to get the number one pick in 2026 just based on the fact that while most teams only have one shot, L.A. has two.
And the Atlanta Falcons could crater this season.
Perhaps the only team with greater odds to get a top-5 draft pick than the Rams is the Cleveland Browns, thanks to both their own shortcomings as a franchise and the fact that they also own the Jacksonville Jaguars 2026 first round pick. So the Browns would make a lot of sense as the team to pick first in 2026 (which may have played into their decision to not draft a QB until the third round) but don’t count out the Rams from picking first.
Or Manning from declaring for the draft for a variety of reasons:
People act as though Arch Manning doesn’t need the money because he’s got the Manning name. Well, that is true to some degree. Manning is a millionaire in his own right because of NIL deals and he will never have to worry about money for as long as he lives.
But, ummm, you realize that Eli and Peyton are just his uncles, right? Do your uncles give you an allowance?
If Manning has an opportunity to get a fully-guaranteed $50 million contract next year, he’d be stupid to let it go because he “doesn’t need the money”.
Nobody needs $50 million. But it’s fair to say that he’d want it.
Although Manning would probably like to get as seasoned as possible — we’ve seen how much experience has helped recent QB draftees — and...
