Who is the most athletic Manning? Ranking football family by speed Austin Curtright, USA TODAY NETWORKAugust 30, 2025 at 11:30 PM The Mannings are essentially the first family of football, with Archie Manning playing 14 NFL seasons before his sons, Peyton and Eli Manning, both won two Super Bowls ea...
- - Who is the most athletic Manning? Ranking football family by speed
Austin Curtright, USA TODAY NETWORKAugust 30, 2025 at 11:30 PM
The Mannings are essentially the first family of football, with Archie Manning playing 14 NFL seasons before his sons, Peyton and Eli Manning, both won two Super Bowls each after each went No. 1 overall in their respective NFL drafts.
Another Manning is soon to enter the fold, too, with Archie's grandson, Arch Manning, set for his first full season as the starter at Texas after he was the No. 1-ranked recruit of the 2023 class.
There are obviously huge expectations for Arch, who sat behind Quinn Ewers for two seasons with the Longhorns before 2025.
REQUIRED READING: Texas' Arch Manning pushes back on grandfather Archie Manning's NFL draft claim
The family of quarterbacks has set nearly an impossible standard for Arch to follow, although Arch certainly appears to have the talent to be the next Manning to enter the NFL. Arch is widely expected to be a first-round pick eventually, despite not having played a full season in college yet.
Arch is also built a bit different than Peyton and Eli, who were a bit immobile compared to their counterparts during their playing career, to say the least. Arch was used in some special formations in 2024 as a lead runner, given his size and speed.
Here's how the Mannings are ranked based on pure athleticism, which lists the Manning athletes in a comical way and definitely doesn't directly relate to football success.
Mannings ranked on athleticism1. Arch Manning
Arch is a clear frontrunner for the most athletic Manning, as the 6-foot-4 quarterback rushed for 108 yards with four touchdowns last season in a reserve role for Texas. He also had a 67-yard touchdown against UTSA, which doesn't scream Manning for those that watched his family members at quarterback.
Reel Analytics clocked Arch hit a top speed of 20.7 mph on his touchdown run, which is quite impressive at his frame.
ARCH MANNING TAKES IT 67 YARDS TO THE HOUSE WITH HIS LEGS 😱It's the longest rush by a Texas QB since Vince Young in 2005. pic.twitter.com/AjU9uSli2c
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 15, 2024
Arch also showed some elusiveness on the run, as he juked out a defender before turning on the jets on the quarterback run. It was the longest touchdown run by a Texas quarterback since Vince Young ran for an 80-yard score in 2005.
Arch also ran for a touchdown on fourth down on the road against Texas A&M in 2024, in which he bounced off a few tacklers before diving into the end zone.
ARCH MANNING COMES INTO THE GAME ON FOURTH DOWN AND SCORES AN UNREAL TOUCHDOWN 🔥TEXAS STRIKES FIRST IN COLLEGE STATION 😤 pic.twitter.com/dLUneP8qpf
— ESPN (@espn) December 1, 2024
Arch is set to be a dual-threat Manning not seen since Archie graced the gridiron.
2. Archie Manning
Archie played in the NFL from 1971-84, predominantly with the New Orleans Saints. Most college football and NFL fans likely don't remember watching his game.
But Arch might've just got his athleticism from his grandpa, as Archie was considered one of the better dual-threat NFL quarterbacks during his career.
Archie ran for 2,197 yards and 18 touchdowns in his career, which is more than triple of both Peyton And Eli's career totals. The longest rush of his career was 27 yards, however, which is somehow shorter than Peyton's longest rush of 33 yards.
3. Cooper Manning
Cooper Manning, Arch's dad, never made it to the NFL after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis during summer workouts ahead of his freshman season at Ole Miss.
He was a highly touted recruit alongside Peyton, as Cooper was his top target at Isidore Newman High School in Louisiana. While he can't be higher than No. 3 in the rankings due to never playing a college game, it's clear Cooper was faster than Peyton and Eli, at least given the fact he played receiver.
It's unfortunate that Cooper was unable to make it to college football, let alone the NFL, due to his condition. Peyton wore No. 18 at Tennessee and in the NFL in honor of Cooper.
4. Peyton Manning
While Peyton certainly was never known for his speed, he actually wasn't half bad as a scrambler in the early parts of his career with the Indianapolis Colts. Peyton ran for 421 combined yards from 2000-02 with seven touchdowns, which is pretty solid given the narrative surronding one of the best passers to ever play the game.
Peyton finished his NFL career with 12 consecutive seasons with 50 rushing yards or less per season after 2002, however. He ran for negative yards on the season in 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Peyton also ran a 4.8-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, which was far from the worst in 1998. Tom Brady ran a 5.28-second 40-yard dash, while Joe Burrow, known for being elite at manuevering the pocket and buying time, ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash.
5. Eli Manning
The least athletic Manning ranking goes to Eli, as Peyton's younger brother never ran for more than 100 yards in a single NFL season.
Eli ran for 100 less career yards than Peyton, although he played one less season than Peyton. Eli also ran a slower 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, recording a time of 4.92 seconds compared to Peyton's 4.8 time.
Neither Eli or Peyton were blazers with their legs, that much has been widely covered over their long NFL careers. Neither of them likely care however, especially with two Super Bowl rings each between the brothers.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is the most athletic Manning? Ranking football family by speed
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