Arch Manning

QB Draft Rumors: Titans, Saints, Manning

As the 2025 NFL Draft continues to draw nearer and nearer, we continue to see momentum towards the Titans selecting Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick. While the team’s president of football operations, Chad Brinker, spoke recently about the time the team has spent evaluating top options like Ward, Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, he also spoke about a patient, disciplined approach that could entail trading back.

“We are going to go through the whole thing, and I think probably here in two weeks, we’re going to have a good idea of where things are headed,” Brinker told the media, per Titans senior writer/editor Jim Wyatt. “And there’s a chance a team calls, and it makes you stop for a second and think, ‘Hey, we might need to consider this.’ But all of this is a part of being disciplined and being thorough.”

Dianna Russini of The Athletic seemed to imply that there are some in the building who are pushing for the team to trade out of the No. 1 overall spot. Russini, in a recent interview, talked about how those in the building with this view see so many question marks on the roster and so many positions of need. If a team gives them an offer that allows them to cover more ground in repairing what needs to be fixed, they feel as if the team needs to seriously consider that option.

Here are a few other rumors concerning quarterback prospects in the coming draft (and beyond):

  • In an interview on NFL Network yesterday, Ian Rapoport noted the Saints as a team that could go after a quarterback early in the draft. The team recently restructured Derek Carr‘s contract, ensuring that they wouldn’t be forced to draft a quarterback later this month, but Rapoport posits that New Orleans still needs a quarterback of the future. If necessary, the team could take a passer at ninth overall or trade back later into the first round, if they believe the guy they want will still be there. Notably, Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post told us today that officials from two NFL clubs have “suggested the Saints’ brass is…infatuated with Texas’s Quinn Ewers in the second round.”
  • La Canfora also cited a scout who believes that Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is “almost a lock to go in the second round.” Milroe has been making the rounds in the pre-draft process with several teams who have needs at quarterback. La Canfora’s source cited Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as examples of guys who didn’t necessarily have elite accuracy or passing ability coming out of the draft but, eventually, added those attributes to their natural athleticism. Milroe is viewed as an elite athlete, and if teams believe they can improve on accuracy and passing traits that, at this moment, don’t seem NFL-ready, there’s no reason he can’t hear his name called on Day 1 or 2.
  • One last thing La Canfora mentioned was that “nearly everyone in the scouting community has opined on the Giants being infatuated with Texas quarterback Arch Manning.” Manning is obviously the nephew of long-time New York franchise passer Eli Manning. The issue with this thought is that they would need to tank in 2025 to be in a position to select Arch, and even then, both Eli and his brother, Peyton Manning, spent four years in college. If Arch follows in his uncles’ footsteps, the Giants would have to tank for two straight seasons in order to have a chance at him. A lot can happen in two years, and given that Manning has only played in 12 collegiate games and made only two starts for the Longhorns, his draft stock could easily change over that time.

Interest In 2026-27 QB Prospects Outshining 2025 NFL Draft

There will inevitably be some teams at the end of the 2024 NFL season that will be aching for a new quarterback for 2025. Rumors abound concerning the job security of Daniel Jones in New York, no one seems to be taking firm control of the starting job in Las Vegas, and uncertainty surrounds the recent investments in the position made in Indianapolis, Cleveland, Carolina, and Tennessee. The 2025 NFL Draft class may not offer enough answers for all these teams, so many are doing their research on the next couple of draft classes.

That doesn’t mean there are no options in 2025. Two passers seem to top the list for the upcoming draft: Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward. Sanders and his father (head coach and NFL legend Deion Sanders) have worked hard over the past two seasons to put the Buffaloes on track for a berth in the Big 12 title game and a chance at the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. Not quite elite with his arm or his legs, Sanders succeeds on technique utilizing good timing and ball placement to lead his offense. Having only played under his father in college, scouts have concerns about Sanders’ maturity and leadership abilities.

Ward, who formerly declared for the 2024 NFL Draft before withdrawing to transfer from Washington State to Coral Gables, has earned his place in the first-round conversation. Starting as a zero-star recruit at Incarnate Ward at the FCS level, Ward found a home in Pullman before joining the Hurricanes. The 22-year-old has led the Canes to a 9-1 record, throwing for 348 yards and three touchdowns in the team’s only loss. His composure in the pocket and elite arm talent make him an enticing prospect but can lead him into making some questionable decisions. He’s an obvious contender for the Heisman trophy, but his draft stock is still far from solidified.

Behind Sanders and Ward, there’s a pretty significant drop off to players like LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Georgia’s Carson Beck, and Penn State’s Drew Allar. All four players hold mid-round intrigue, but there’s plenty of time for any of them to work their way into the first-round conversations late like we saw Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix do last year.

While a couple teams will be in a position to take a quarterback early in the 2025 draft, and some may decide that Sanders or Ward are a fit for their organization, others are already doing their homework on the next few classes of college passers. Two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman have scouts licking their chops before they’ve even reached draft eligibility.

In Austin, redshirt freshman Arch Manning has been quietly building a ton of anticipation from the bench. The grandson of former Saints quarterback Archie Manning and son of Peyton and Eli’s brother Cooper, Manning has waited patiently behind the Longhorns’ starting passer Quinn Ewers. Seeing time in six games in relief of Ewers in 2024, Manning has shined in spurts for Texas.

Another NFL legacy player, Dylan Raiola — son of long-time Lions center Dominic Raiola — started off his true freshman season for Nebraska hot before falling off in recent weeks. After drawing early comparisons to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (mostly visually), Raiola came on strong in his collegiate start, throwing nine touchdowns to only two interceptions in his first five games. Since then, the Cornhuskers passer has cooled off quite a bit throwing only one touchdown to six picks.

Lastly, South Carolina has a redshirt freshman passer in LaNorris Sellers whose name is resounding in NFL scouting circles already. While his arm isn’t electric quite yet, Sellers has been effective en route to a 5-3 record as a starter. He also adds some dynamism with his legs averaging about 50 rushing yards per game on his way to four scores on the ground.

The talk for players like Manning, Raiola, and Sellers is obviously far too premature, as can be seen by Raiola’s midseason slump. The existence of such conversations, though, seems to underline the lack of excitement from the NFL in the 2025 draft class. Sanders and Ward are well on their way to hearing their names on the first night of the draft, but Nussmeier, Milroe, Beck, Allar, and others have some work ahead of them if they’re going to convince NFL squads to take a shot on them this offseason.