2 days Ago By Pankti Parmar
Former Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz had a wild theory in store for his former team: approaching 2025 with a tanking mentality so that they can land Arch Manning in the 2026 NFL draft. Cruz, the now ESPN analyst, opined during an interview in SiriusXM NFL radio that "the Giants should approach the 2025 NFL Draft and with a tanking mentality so they can be in line to pick QB Arch Manning at the top of the draft in 2026," per JoeBucsFan.com .
With Daniel Jones out, the Giants are very likely to try their best to get a franchise QB in the 2025 NFL draft, even if that means paying a price to trade up. Waiting for the end of the 2026 program, and tanking until then to get Manning would be a major, major risk for the Giants, one they could easily avoid. One they will likely avoid since Manning will still have the choice of staying in college for another season.
Now, about Manning: His stats were impressive in his first year but they are already improving, as the Longhorns backup QB has tallied for up to 195 already in his second year as compared to 27 snaps in his freshman season. This means he needs to be more on the field, possibly as the starter. Additionally, Manning's draft eligibility will not be a problem since he becomes draft-eligible in 2026 .
However, his experience at the college level might pose a question if the Manning heir decides to go pro in the 2026 NFL draft. Manning's football acumen is evident in the games he plays. Given that Ewers will be off to the NFL after the 2025 season, Manning will have two years of college eligibility as a starting QB at the college level to develop his potential to the fullest, instead of going to the draft early with just one year under his belt as a starter.
Arch Manning will likely stay at Texas for this reason Kevin Harissh of Next Impulse Sports explains the reason why Manning will decide to make the Giants wait on him in the 2026 season. "NFL teams are no longer focused on developing young quarterbacks over time. Instead, they’re looking for quarterbacks who can step in and perform right away.
According to a report from NFL Draft expert Matt Miller, this has NFL scouts and agents suggesting that quarterbacks shouldn’t even try to enter the draft until they’ve started for two seasons or more at the college level," Harissh writes. "Scouts and agents are telling college QBs to not leave school until they’ve started 2+ years. The NFL doesn’t truly develop QBs anymore outside of rare exceptions," Miller said in a post on X.
The choice is Manning's. He can either choose to enter the draft early and prove himself to be an exception, or he can stay a year more in Texas before finally going pro. Whatever he chooses will be a key factor in his NFL career.
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