Arch Manning constructs an exceptional QB based on five traits

Arch Manning and his Red Bull hat have been making the PR rounds of late. First he did an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith, then the video below leaked. The request was for Manning to build his perfect QB with five traits in mind: football IQ, arm strength, accuracy, running ability, and clutch factor.

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Arch Manning builds his perfect QB

Thoughts on his choices? pic.twitter.com/N0CotvlT9n

— Arch Manning Highlights (@ArchHighlights) January 31, 2025

The questioner leaves off two very important traits. One is anticipation, though one quarterback Arch lists below probably wins that award. Another important trait, playmaking, would likely go to another player on this list. 

Football IQ 

Arch went with his uncle Peyton Manning. Tom Brady‘s nephew probably wouldn’t argue with that too much.

In 2014, cornerback Richard Sherman wrote an article offering his top-five smartest quarterbacks. He went with Peyton Manning, saying, “When we played Peyton in the preseason, I found a new appreciation for the way he makes adjustments at the line of scrimmage; he controls the protections, and if he sees the blitz coming he slides it. The thing that sets him apart is that he’ll change it to a run play if you don’t have enough players in the box, and they’ll get five or six yards because you’re not ready for it. Nobody else has both the authority to do that within their offense and the understanding to know when it’s appropriate.”

Sherman finished with a barb, “His arm, however, is another story. His passes will be accurate and on time, but he throws ducks.”

Arch might have a bit of a wobble to his throws but he tends to put it on a line more often than not.

Arm Strength

Manning went with another option that’s hard to dispute — Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes’ arm strength shows up as much when he’s on the move or off platform as it does in a traditional dropback setting. He has RPM’s no matter the circumstances and he’s also likely the best playmaker we’ve ever seen at the position. 

Us older guys would have also accepted John Elway, Brett Favre, Jeff George, and Michael Vick. Vick certainly had the most effortless gas. Of the newer guys, Josh Allen has a hose. A bridge between old and new, Aaron Rodgers, could dial up whatever arm strength he needed given the scenario. 

Accuracy 

At this point Arch is on fire. He goes with Drew Brees who holds the record for highest completion percentage in a season at 74.4%. He could have easily gone with Peyton again but he did keep it in NOLA with Brees.

For my money, Brees had the best anticipation which was a must given his lack of height. He didn’t just anticipate windows for the receivers to catch but he excelled at moving his feet and anticipating throwing lanes. 

Tom Brady is certainly one to mention here but a lot of his throws were short and underneath. Joe Montana and Steve Young could also be mentioned, but again, they benefitted from a volume of shorter timing routes. Mahomes deserves mention yet again. 

Running Ability

Arch’s selection of Lamar Jackson could be disputed but there’s only one other option — Michael Vick. I’d personally go with Vick but I certainly wouldn’t fault someone Manning’s age selecting Jackson. I wouldn’t fault somebody of any age going with Jackson. 

I must say, it was a lot of fun watching Randall Cunningham in his prime. He truly broke the mold. Steve Young was also extremely dangerous because he was also an exceptional passer. 

Clutch Factor 

Tom Brady‘s nephew wouldn’t like Arch’s answer of Eli Manning one bit. Not many would go with Eli but he did defeat the Patriots for the Super Bowl twice, including the undefeated 2007 team, best remembered for the insane David Tyree catch. While he was very good during that 2007 run, he was exceptional in the Giants’ 2011 Super Bowl run. 

There’s no doubt Manning performed under pressure and his 41 game-winning drives register No. 10 all-time, but the answer must be Brady. I say that as someone who grew up watching Joe Montana, who would be No. 2 on most lists. 

Closing 

Due to the overall strength of his answers, we’ll cut Arch a little slack for a hint of bias at the end. 

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If he understands quarterbacking as well as he understands quarterbacks, Manning V.3 is going to be as special as we think. I remain extremely bullish on him, largely because he has a lot of the traits mentioned above and even some that weren’t.