Jordan Reid grades Arch Manning as a Day 2 quarterback as Mel Kiper Jr. pushes Oklahoma’s David Stone toward Round 1

Mel Kiper Jr. and Jordan Reid’s weekly Sunday draft notebook after Week 6 of the college season, posted Oct. 11, has one blunt line on Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Reid says some scouts still see a potential top-10 pick, but he grades Manning as a Day 2 prospect right now. The rest of the notebook is mostly risers: an Oklahoma defensive tackle Kiper thinks could reach Round 1, a Kentucky center Reid now ranks among the best at his position, and a South Carolina quarterback who could climb back into the early rounds.

Several of those players meet this Saturday. Kentucky’s Coleton Price goes to Oklahoma and will see a lot of David Stone, the defensive tackle Kiper says centers “can’t handle.”

Manning: top-10 flashes, Day 2 grade

Reid’s answer on Manning goes back to the Red River loss to Oklahoma. Manning threw a 41-yard touchdown to Cam Coleman in the first quarter while escaping pressure. Then he threw two bad fourth-quarter interceptions, one of them returned for a touchdown, and finished 19 of 31 for 260 yards, three touchdowns and two picks. Reid says Manning’s accuracy is scattershot because his footwork and mechanics are “out of whack,” much like the first half of 2025. In Reid’s words, Manning makes routine throws look difficult and difficult throws look routine.

Reid’s Day 2 grade matches his QB Hot Board from Oct. 9. That puts him lower on Manning than most of the boards we have covered. Kiper questioned whether Manning belongs in his top 25 this week, and Manning ranges from the top five to outside Round 1 on the consensus board. Dan Treacy’s QB rankings and Justin Melo’s QB board also have him slipping.

Sellers back in the early-round conversation?

Reid says South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers came into the season as one of the most polarizing quarterbacks among scouts. Over the last two games, against Kentucky and Florida, he has 505 passing yards and seven total touchdowns. In the 38-19 win at Florida he went 23 of 35 for 279 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, and ran 14 times for 20 yards and a fifth score.

At 6-foot-3 and 238 pounds, Sellers’ arm and mobility are his best traits. Reid says the scouts he talks to see him as a middle-to-late-round option for now. If the trend continues, though, a team could take a swing on his arm as early as late Day 2. South Carolina is off this Saturday and hosts Tennessee on Oct. 24.

Kiper’s risers: Stone, Marsh, Perich, Lewis, Clarke

• David Stone, DT, Oklahoma — Kiper thinks Stone “could enter the Round 1 discussion.” He calls the 6-foot-3, 312-pounder a pure powerhouse who pushed the pocket against Texas. Kiper’s one concern: Stone has three career sacks, only half a sack in 2026, though he had eight tackles for loss last season.
• Nick Marsh, WR, Indiana — Kiper says not to sleep on Marsh behind Charlie Becker. Marsh had 7-120-1 against Rutgers and then six catches for 187 yards and two scores against Nebraska. Kiper says the 20-year-old Michigan State transfer “could make his way into the first-round conversation.” Marsh was also a riser in Ian Cummings’ Week 6 stock report.
• Koi Perich, S, Oregon — Perich had 11 tackles and his second interception of the season against UCLA. Kiper projects him as a Day 2 pick but says he looked like a first-rounder in that game, with good range in center field and physical play against the run.
• Kip Lewis, LB, Oklahoma — Kiper calls Lewis a 6-foot-1, 226-pound linebacker who is “always around [the] ball” and a good Day 3 name to watch.
• Peter Clarke, TE, Temple — Clarke had five catches for 88 yards and a touchdown against UConn and threw two key blocks. He is 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds and came through the NFL Academy in London. Kiper expects him to be an intriguing Day 3 pick.

Reid’s risers: Price, Roberts and Stewart’s return

• Coleton Price, C, Kentucky — Reid says Price was a late-round hopeful coming into the season and now has a case as one of the top three centers in the class. Price is 6-foot-3 and 308 pounds with excellent hand placement. On Kentucky’s first snap against LSU he opened the lane for CJ Baxter’s 77-yard run. Reid has a fourth-round grade on him and says it keeps rising.
• Jamal Roberts, RB, Missouri — With Ahmad Hardy out, Roberts ran for 222 yards and two touchdowns against Texas A&M. Reid now calls him a potential late-Day 2 pick and a top-five back in the class, up from early-to-mid Day 3 grades in the preseason.
• Dylan Stewart, EDGE, South Carolina — Stewart was suspended one game after the Sept. 26 Alabama game, where he threw a punch at an Alabama player and argued with his coaches. He came back at Florida and got his first sack of the season. Reid says Stewart still has questions to answer, but his ceiling “arguably tops all defenders” in the class and he is still a potential top-10 pick. Stewart is No. 1 on Brian Lamb’s top 50.

Where these players are this weekend

• Kentucky at Oklahoma — Sunday about 2:30 a.m. Cairo (Saturday night in the U.S.). Price against Stone is the best one-on-one matchup in this notebook, and Kip Lewis is on the Oklahoma side.
• Florida at Texas — Saturday about 7 p.m. Cairo. This is Manning’s first start since the Oklahoma loss.
• Ohio State at Indiana — Saturday about 7 p.m. Cairo. Marsh and Becker face Jeremiah Smith’s Buckeyes.
• Missouri at Ole Miss — Saturday about 10:30 p.m. Cairo. Roberts gets a road test against Trinidad Chambliss’ team.
• Charlotte at Temple — Saturday about 8 p.m. Cairo, for Clarke.
• Nebraska at Oregon — Sunday about 6 a.m. Cairo, for Perich.
• South Carolina — off this week; Sellers and Stewart are next up against Tennessee on Oct. 24.

Kiper’s next big public ranking is the top-25 board with positional top fives that he said would come in mid-October. Until it is out, his current top 10 from Wednesday’s First Draft episode still has no Manning. Reid’s Day 2 grade is one of the lowest current marks on the Texas quarterback. Brian Bosarge’s mock 4.0 is the latest full mock we have covered, and it has Manning at No. 13.