Arch Manning isn’t a top 10 quarterback in the country, let alone a top 10 player.
That’s how one veteran NFL evaluator assessed college football’s biggest name. Manning draws polarizing opinions that range from future No. 1 overall pick to vastly overrated, as the scout believed. Just think about what the internet made of the viral catch made by Manning’s new top receiver, Cam Coleman. The NFL evaluator’s claim sounded hyperbolic to me, so I pressed him to name 10 quarterbacks who were better.
Eventually, after going through every perceived top quarterback in the country, the NFL scout conceded “not a top 10 quarterback” may have been too harsh. But he was adamant that there are real concerns around Texas‘ star quarterback, including his lower-body mechanics. He does not have him ranked as a top-five quarterback ahead of the 2026 season.
“Watch him throw a deep out,” the scout says, “he’ll sail it every time.”
The NFL scout was one of 10 voices CBS Sports polled about its top-10 ranked players in CBS Sports analyst Blake Brockermeyer’s top 150 player rankings. We polled two college football general managers, two NFL scouts and six college football personnel executives on the top 10 players asking if they thought they were underrated, properly rated or overrated in the context of the top 10.
The top 10
No. 1) Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith
No. 2) Oregon quarterback Dante Moore
No. 3) Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss
No. 4) Miami receiver Malachi Toney
No. 5) Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore
No. 6) Texas defensive end Colin Simmons
No. 7) LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton
No. 8) Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy
No. 9) Texas quarterback Arch Manning
No. 10) Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker
Most ‘overrated’ players
Manning prompted strong opinions but he is not our most overrated player. That ignominious honor goes to Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker. The former walk-on quarterback threw for a nation’s best 4,379 yards and second-best 34 touchdowns last season at North Texas before following head coach Eric Morris to Stillwater. The numbers may be eye-popping but eight of our 10 experts tabbed Mestemaker as overrated at No. 9 overall.
“Feel like most would point to Arch here but I go with Drew,” says a high-ranking ACC personnel executive. “Think the rest of the list is proven and really legit talents. In my mind, Drew is the one and only unproven player at the Power Four level. (I) like some of the traits and he has ability, but I’m rolling with him because I think he is overpaid and (Oklahoma State) won’t even make a bowl game.”
Says a Big Ten general manager: “I’m not sure I’d put (Drew) above (Jayden) Maiava or (Julian) Sayin in terms of pure talent. I don’t think you can put him above (John) Mateer, either. That’s crazy now that I think about it. No way. He’s the second-best quarterback in that state.”
Getty Images
For context, USC quarterback Jayden Maiva was ranked No. 11, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin checked in at No. 19 and Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was 64 spots behind Mestemaker at No. 74.
Manning, who had an up-and-down first season as a starter, finished with the second-most overrated votes, which was not surprising. He had 3,163 passing yards and 26 touchdowns but struggled in a season-opening loss to Ohio State and an ugly win over UTEP in which he managed only 114 passing yards on 11 of 25 attempts. He did, though, have plenty of supporters, too. Those high on Manning pointed to his improved play late in the season where he was first in ESPN’s QBR metric after Halloween.
“I had this conversation with our head coach when we were studying Texas and Steve Sarkisian,” says an ACC assistant general manager. “He thought a game we watched was really bad but then I said, ‘Turn on ‘these games’ and he thought it was really good.”
Other players who got overrated votes: Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (3 votes), Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (3 votes), Miami receiver Malachi Toney (3 votes), LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton (2 votes) and Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy (1 vote).
Moore, ranked No. 2 overall in the rankings, is the most interesting one of that also receiving votes group. Had he left for the NFL Draft after last season, he was expected to have a good chance to go in the top three. According to Brockermeyer, “Moore plays like a seasoned veteran and throws an accurate ball, completing 72.5 percent of his passes for the 2025 season.” He totaled 3,565 passing yards and 30 touchdowns and had 30 “big-time throws,” according to Pro Football Focus.
But doubters point to struggles in big games, including a disastrous performance against Indiana in the Peach Bowl that featured a pick-six and two lost fumbles. One of our voters, who played against Oregon last season, said of Moore, “There was nothing after that game that was like, “That guy’s the number two overall pick in the draft.”
Most ‘underrated’ players
For our experts, there were two clear favorites on who should have been ranked higher. Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore led the way with four votes while Texas defensive end Colin Simmons received three votes for most underrated.
Moore, the No. 5 ranked player, is a projected top-10 draft pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, according to CBS Sports experts Mike Renner and Ryan Wilson. He is the heart of a Notre Dame defense that is expected to be among the nation’s best in 2026.
Likewise, the talented Texas defensive end Simmons will have a good chance to be a top 10 draft pick if he plays like many expect this season. The former five-star recruit had 12 sacks and three forced fumbles last season for the Longhorns. Moore and Simmons have a relatively clear path towards being regarded as a top-two or top-three player this fall.
Two other players received underrated votes: Lacy and Seaton.
While one expert thought Lacy was overrated because of positional value at running back, another believed he doesn’t get enough credit for what he brings to the offense. Lacy finished second nationally in touchdowns (24) and third nationally in rushing yards (1,567) on an Ole Miss team that made it to a College Football Playoff semifinal.
“I love Kewan Lacy,” says a Power Four general manager. “I think he is a very underrated player and I think he’s secretly just as important as Chambliss in that offense.”
