CFB insider takes a dig at Peyton & Eli Manning while delivering verdict on Arch ahead of 2025 season

Peyton and Eli Manning were fantastic quarterbacks in their own right, though mainly stationary during their NFL careers. Their nephew, Texas passer Arch Manning, has shown to be much more athletic in brief flashes for the Longhorns. Arch will take over the Longhorns' offense next season, with sky-high expectations because of his family name.

Although he's a Manning, OutKick's Clay Travis believes Arch is set up for success in a different way than his uncles. Peyton and Eli Manning weren't known for using their legs as much as they did their arms, not even close.

"Well, I think one thing that is gonna actually help Arch Manning is he's actually quite a lot different than Eli or Peyton in that he's actually a really, really good athlete," Travis said Tuesday on The Next Round.

"I mean, I think Peyton and Eli would acknowledge that, too. I mean, would you have ever believed — for those of us who are not old enough to have watched Archie Manning play — I mean, Texas basically used him in athletic quarterback situations, right?

"He was basically, like, the guy who came in to try to run the ball for first downs. The guy who came in to run, you know, sort of sprint option plays. I don't think anybody would've ever foreseen that with Peyton or Eli."

Steve Sarkisian inserted Arch Manning into certain situations this past season as a rusher, as he was more adept in toting the ball than regular starter Quinn Ewers. Manning rushed for 108 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries.

That yardage total was three yards shy of what Peyton had rushed for during a 12-season span from 2003-15. Eli Manning never rushed for 100 yards in any season during his 16-year pro career.

"I guess my point on it is, yes, he's got the last name Manning, but he actually plays very different than Peyton or Eli did," Travis said.

"You know, he's a chip off the old block of Archie. And remember, (Arch's father) Cooper was the most athletic of the Manning kids. He was the one maybe the most like Archie."

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Is Arch Manning faster than Eli Manning?

In an interview last month, Arch Manning admitted that Eli Manning could keep up with him for some time

"I watched them growing up, and they're actually faster than you'd think," Manning said on an episode of "Broadcast Boys" posted on YouTube.

"I remember in seventh grade, I went and worked out with Eli, and it was kind of neck and neck. They are faster than you'd think, but, I think by high school, I was faster."

Arch's mobility might help open up the offense for Sarkisian next fall, but the coach might not want to put his star signal-caller in harm's way. The attention that follows Manning might be unprecedented. With the gridiron royalty his surname entails, he would be under pressure to live up to expectations. But, he will do it his own way.