Mel Kiper Jr. is selling everyone’s shares of Arch Manning.
The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning has long been heralded as a future No. 1 overall pick, but it appears that ESPN’s top NFL draft insider is all out on that lofty buzz for the lightning rod prospect.
Kiper Jr. has Manning ranked No. 24 among all prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft and No. 6 among quarterbacks.
“Manning is too inconsistent,” Kiper wrote. “He’s going to be a tough evaluation. Watch just about any game he plays, and you’ll ride the roller coaster.”
Kiper also points to Manning’s stats as a reason for the lackluster rating: 63% completion rate, 1,122 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes, five interceptions and 174 rushing yards.
With some positivity, Kiper has Manning rated ahead of Oregon QB Dante Moore, whom many prognosticators believed would be the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, a pick held by the Jets.
Though the reality is Manning, coming off a loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game, is currently behind the likes of top-ranking QB Drew Mestemaker of Oklahoma State (No. 2 overall), Miami’s Darian Mensah (No. 4), Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss (No. 6), Notre Dame’s CJ Carr (No. 8) and Missouri QB Austin Simmons (No. 10).
Mestermaker’s rise to the top of Kiper big board — behind only Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith — is shocking given his background: he didn’t start for his high school team and walked on at North Texas before transferring to the Cowboys this season.
Kiper admits Manning’s stock could rise if he has a strong finish to the season on a loaded Texas team with plenty of talent.
“I’m very curious to see how the rest of this season plays out,” he wrote.
Texas faces four ranked opponents in the next five weeks, and even up next, Florida was rated in the top 15 before two disappointing losses.
