New Year's Eve bowl effort establishes early QB1 for 2027 NFL Draft

Arch Manning may not be entering the NFL Draft this season, but he got a jump start on New Year's Eve in establishing himself as a premier talent in the 2027 Draft.

Manning entered this past season viewed as one of the top potential draft prospects, but didn't have quite the season he or Texas fans would have hoped. He finished the regular season 227-of-370 for 2,942 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while also adding eight rushing touchdowns, and fell out of the Heisman race in favor of quarterbacks such as Fernando Mendoza and Diego Pavia, while the Longhorns finished 9-3 and missed out on the College Football Playoff.

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Manning announced in mid-December the NFL. And in a New Year's Eve showdown in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan, Manning made an early case that he should be the definitive QB1 in the 2027 Draft.

He led Texas to a 41-27 win over the Wolverines to cap the season with ten wins, and he did so with a video game-like performance: he went 21-of-34 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 155 rushing yards and two touchdowns with his legs on just nine carries. He looked every bit of a future NFL franchise quarterback in a big postseason win on a national stage.

Manning is now in a prime position to establish himself as the top pick in 2027 if he lives up to his bowl game performance next season. ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg said after the game on social media that he believes Manning could still go as the number one pick in 2026 if he decided to declare, while Fox college football analyst and former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart believes Manning is now the favorite to both win the Heisman and secure the No. 1 pick in 2027.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: New Year's Eve bowl effort establishes early QB1 for 2027 NFL Draft