Congratulations Indianapolis Colts fans. You’re about to get your franchise quarterback in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Just don’t go dusting off those No. 18 Manning jerseys to support Arch Manning, at least if you believe NBC Sports.
The Colts were projected to land Drew Allar of Penn State with the No. 8 overall pick in the way-too-early mock draft posted on Pro Football Talk.
Allar, who eschewed the NFL Draft to stay at Penn State after two hyper-efficient seasons as starting quarterback, is climbing the ranks of 2026 draft-eligible quarterbacks. He has a 49/10 touchdown-to-interception ratio over 2023 and 2024 and helped the Nittany Lions finish 27th in FBS in points per game (33.1) last season.
At 6-5, 236 pounds, Allar has the physical tools to start at quarterback in the NFL and raised his accuracy from 59.6 percent to 66.5 from his sophomore to junior year. He is projected as the third QB off the board on PFT behind Manning and Cade Klubnik of Clemson.
Indy’s QB Need
The Colts just selected their perceived franchise quarterback in 2023, and their roster currently features two top-10-selected quarterbacks from the past decade.
But Indy’s window to win has been cut due to its instability at the most important position. The Colts have arguably the NFL’s top running back (Jonathan Taylor) and an elite wide receiver corps of Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Josh Downs, but have been done in by Anthony Richardson’s injuries and inaccurate throws.
Richardson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, has more interceptions (13) than touchdown passes (11) while playing just 15 games over two seasons in his career.
At 6-4, 244 pounds, Richardson is still enormous by quarterback standards, and his running ability (635 yards, 10 touchdowns) cannot be questioned. But with the passing and injury woes, this is already a make-or-break year for him, especially with fellow questionable first-round pick Daniel Jones set to potentially compete for the starting role.
The Arch Show
If the Colts wanted to make a huge splash at QB, which undoubtedly is owner Jim Irsay’s preference, they could revisit their past.
Manning, the University of Texas quarterback prodigy, will at some point, become the third generation of Manning quarterback to reach the NFL. But both of his uncles, Peyton and Eli Manning, stayed in college all four years, and with Arch slated to make the most NIL money of any college athlete in 2025-26 — $6.6 million according to On3 — he may pass on the big bucks of the NFL to keep playing in Austin.
Manning will be draft eligible after the 2025 college-football season, and he is considered the favorite to be chosen with the top pick. Obviously, given his pedigree and skill, quarterback-needy teams are dreaming of landing him as their franchise QB starting in 2026.
Despite their quarterback deficiencies, the Colts are too talented, and the AFC South is too middling, for them to be in the mix for a top-5 pick at this point. Both NBC (No. 8) and ESPN (No. 9) have Indianapolis selecting in the top-10 but not at the very top of the board in their way-too-early mock drafts.
The Colts have their first-round picks for the foreseeable future, and earned two extra seventh-round compensatory picks after losing free agents. So if they wanted to go for Manning they could throw caution to the wind and trade up and pick him.
But they may also have a couple of extra years if Manning decides to remain in Austin.