Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
It’s been a constant and prevailing belief that the New Orleans Saints, should they finish the 2025 season in position to do so, could target Texas quarterback Arch Manning in the 2026 NFL Draft.
His grandfather, Archie Manning, was the last first-round quarterback that the Saints have taken in the NFL Draft, excluding the supplemental draft. Archie Manning was drafted back in 1971 and spent 11 years as the top passer in New Orleans.
Now, he serves as the messenger that could be dashing the dreams of many quarterback-needy teams heading into the 2025 season.
Archie Manning declares of his grandson, “He’ll be at Texas” for 2026. He’ll have to yell that at the top of his lungs all season to get the mock drafts to stop including Arch. https://t.co/1Q149Hyxdy
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 7, 2025
“Arch isn’t going to do that,” he said of his grandson entering the 2026 draft in an interview with Texas Monthly. “He’ll be at Texas.”
That could be a gut punch to many fans and analysts who consistently tie the Saints and Arch Manning together in their 2026 mock drafts.
Should New Orleans finish poorly following an unpredictable 2025 season and be in position to draft another quarterback, they won’t hesitate to do so.
Yes, the team drafted Louisville passer Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 draft. But a second-round selection hardly guarantees anything. Shough’s fully-guaranteed No. 40 overall contract is also overstated as a sticking point. Neither would preclude the Saints from re-investing at the position if they needed to in 2026.
Though now, their talent pool may be one player short.
It is easy to see all of this changing course quickly, however. Should the young Manning lead Texas to a national championship or win the Heisman Trophy in 2026, they could guarantee him first-overall pick status. In which case returning to school may become a lot less likely.
But that would mean the Saints either need to finish with the No. 1 overall selection or the old need to be willing to pull off a massive trade up to return the Manning name to the black and gold in 2026.
