The Seattle Seahawks might have a blooming quarterback issue. Starter Sam Darnold has made some excellent throws this season, as he normally does, but he has also made some tremendous mistakes. He isn't playing winning football and might need to be replaced sooner than expected. That replacement might be Texas' Arch Manning.
This isn't about Manning being so excellent himself this season that Seattle's record is going to be so bad that it allows the team to choose Manning in the top five selections of the 2027 NFL Draft. Instead, Manning's somewhat uninspiring play could lead him to fall down draft boards.
That is assuming Manning doesn't return to the University of Texas for another year after the current one. He is a junior and might be able to mitigate what might be falling in his future draft value by returning to the Longhorns and playing better. But assuming he does enter the 2027 draft, he could end up being taken around where the Seahawks would choose.
The Seattle Seahawks could conceivably draft Arch Manning to eventually replace Sam Darnold
Darnold is signed through 2027, but teams have made a habit of taking quarterbacks before they absolutely need one. That is the best approach, and the same one, for instance, that the Los Angeles Rams took this year when they chose Ty Simpson in the first round. Starter Matthew Stafford isn't going anywhere yet. Simpson is still the future.
According to a recent draft board cooked up by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., Manning is the sixth-highest-rated QB in 2027. He is the 24th-best player overall. If Seattle's season continues to trend in the wrong direction, the team might end up choosing around 20th, which would mean an early loss in the playoffs.
The quarterbacks ranked above Manning, according to Kiper, include Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker, Miami's Darian Mensah, Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss, Notre Dame's CJ Carr, and Missouri's Austin Simmons. The rankings could, and almost certainly will, change.
Some of those quarterbacks are more NFL-ready than Arch Manning. Carr definitely is. But having Darnold around through 2027 and taking Manning would do two things.
One is that Darnold would be extra motivated to play exceedingly well. It is easy to forget that he led the league in turnovers last season with 20, but the team won the Super Bowl despite that. In other words, Darnold's turnover problem isn't new and will likely continue. He is still worthy of being a QB1, but he has a ceiling.
If the Seattle Seahawks took Manning in the first round, he could sit for a season and adapt to the speed and power of the league, something he likely needs to do. He has the arm talent and ability to run to be successful, but he has also shown that he needs time to develop.
Of course, the hope is that Sam Darnold suddenly becomes very good again, and the Seahawks don't need to look for a new quarterback. The way things are playing out this season, though, that seems unlikely to occur.
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