When the New York Giants traded back into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, it was assumed Big Blue landed their quarterback of the future.
However, the NFL is often said to stand for ‘not for long,’ and in a recently published 2026 NFL mock draft, ‘not for long’ means less than one year for Dart as a franchise QB.
NFL Spin Zone’s Lou Scataglia’s swing at what could unfold in Round 1 next April has the Giants owning the first overall pick and going back to the future with a Manning under center: Texas’ QB Arch Manning.
“If Arch Manning does declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, he would likely be the first overall pick,” Scataglia wrote. “The New York Giants would perhaps finally have a QB worth building around, as if they are on pace to have the first overall pick, a new regime is likely on the way.”
Arch Manning would be too good for Giants to pass up in 2026
While Giants fans won’t like the idea of New York owning the first overall pick — it would mean the 2025 season was an absolute disaster — adding Manning would be a home run.
Arch Manning made his first start on September 21st, 2024
He went 15/29 for 2 TDs and 2 INTs
Some pretty throws in this one pic.twitter.com/c4BT4x8MfS
— Arch Manning Highlights (@ArchHighlights) May 16, 2025
There’s legitimate speculation that the Longhorns star won’t turn pro next year, so this could be a moot point. But if Manning does declare, he’s the type of QB talent that teams would tank for. And, yeah, it would mean Dart is left out in the cold, but the Giants would undoubtedly be able to recoup some of the draft capital they invested in him by trading Dart to another quarterback-needy team.
Arch Manning is the next in the long line of QB royalty that began with his grandfather, Archie, and continued with Peyton and Eli, who won two Super Bowls for Big Blue.
While it feels very safe to assume Manning will have a breakout year for Texas in 2025, he is a bit of an unknown. He’s only attempted 95 passes as a college QB. In 2024, Manning completed 61 of 90 attempts for 939 yards and nine scores.
The bottom line is this: if the New York Giants are so bad in 2025 that they end the year with the first overall pick, it likely means that Dart failed to impress anyway. The coaching staff and front office will be fired, and the next regime will want “their” guy.
And if that guy can be Arch Manning, it’s a no-brainer.
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