Jerry Jones’ Bold Arch Manning Move Revealed After Keeping Dak Prescott On the Edge

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam had already dismissed speculation about drafting Arch Manning in late July, saying it wasn’t worth discussing. Yet just weeks later, he and GM Andrew Berry attended Manning’s season opener, briefly reigniting rumors of Cleveland’s interest. But after a quiet debut, attention shifted to Dallas, where Jerry Jones’ trade of Micah Parsons for four first-round picks has one analyst convinced it’s part of a deeper strategy to position the Cowboys for a future run at the Texas quarterback.

If true, it could reshape not just the Cowboys’ future, but the Manning legacy itself. However, the 21-year-old hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll enter the 2026 NFL draft, but analyst RJ Choppy believes that trading Parsons for four first-round picks is part of a bigger plan.

Speaking on the recent episode of 105.3 The Fan, Choppy said, “If you were able to go down and play this year out, and you see how it goes. You get the next year, if you see this is not gonna work, you take one of those Green Bay picks and you trade down and you get another or you take one of your own picks and you trade down and you get another first and then the next year, you take those first and you move up and get Arch Manning and that is where Jerry’s legacy now sits.”

Means the ball is now in the Cowboys’ court, they can either trade up in the draft, possibly in 2027, to pursue Arch Manning, or trade down to stockpile assets and build depth. Since handing over their defensive cornerstone to the Packers, the Cowboys have been justifying the decision, hyping their acquired Kenny Clark. But that’s not the only advantage Jones pointed out. “Those draft picks could get us, I’m talking top, Pro Bowl-type players,” he said.

Whether this gamble pays off for Dallas remains to be seen. But RJ Choppy seems to have decoded Jones’s mindset for loading extra picks in the trade deal with the Packers. And it has everything to do with Manning. 

In this strategy, Jones would allow Manning to play out the current season (given the recent performance, he needs to) and evaluate his development. Even Steve Sarkisian, head coach of the Texas Longhorns, said, “We saw some real flashes and glimpses of the type of player that he’s going to become here,” believing Manning has a lot of development to do.

Now, since the billionaire owner isn’t committing anything, he always has the option to use the draft picks to maneuver in the 2026 or 2027 drafts, if Arch doesn’t seem a right fit. Interestingly, former Cowboys legend Dez Bryant is also convinced that Jones is eyeing the Texas Longhorns’ backup QB. “Arch Manning will have a star on his helmet,” he wrote in an X post. His theory is also based on the draft picks. 

If Jerry Jones is indeed making moves for the future, it may be time to start looking for Dak Prescott’s successor. With Prescott’s $60 million-per-year contract taking up a major chunk of the salary cap, Jones isn’t just paying for talent, he’s expecting results. He didn’t agree to the highest-paid deal in league history just because he could; he expects “elevation.” As Jones has often said, “With great money comes big responsibility,” and this season, that responsibility falls squarely on Prescott.

“I really believe strongly that when you have that, you have an added responsibility to show leadership for the whole team, when you’re one of the six or seven that are getting two-thirds of the money,” Jones said on August 25 during the opening monologue of Netflix’s America’s Team. Talk about expectations! It’s been eight years since Prescott was handed over the ropes, but the curse of the playoffs still continues. As he has now entered his ninth season, winning the Super Bowl has become crucial for Prescott’s own sanity.

And if Manning isn’t the answer, Jones may already have another name in mind.

Jerry Jones compares Quinn Ewers to Tom Brady

In many ways, this could be the last chance for Prescott to prove himself in the eyes of Jones. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be entirely wrong to say the 82-year-old has been browsing quarterbacks. And Arch Manning might not be the only name in his mind. If not from drafts, he still has options of seeking trade deals in the future. Earlier this year, in May, Jones shocked everyone by drawing parallels between Tom Brady and Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns’ former starter. 

In a conversation with Todd Archer of ESPN, Ewers revealed that Jones suggested at the Cowboys’ annual Dallas Day pre-draft event that the quarterback’s situation is quite similar to what the legendary Brady faced in Michigan. In the late 90s, Brady started two seasons at Michigan, but the bigger name on the team was Drew Henson, serving as backup yet pressuring for more playing time. Now, in Texas, though Ewers has started three seasons and led them to College Playoffs twice, the hype around Manning was quite high. 

“It’s definitely a lot of motivation that comes with it,” Ewers said about Jones’ comparison. Regardless of the situation, the young quarterback’s confidence in himself hasn’t trembled. Similar to Brady’s late draft selection, Ewers has also entered the world of the NFL after being the last quarterback selected in the 2025 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. If destiny has it written for Ewers, an injury could open doors for him to shine as well—much like it did for Brady.