Eli is an easy choice.(My Turn)(Eli Manning )

I can't remember the last time I was this excited about an NFL draft prospect. After watching Eli Manning from the sideline at the Cotton Bowl, plus several Ole Miss games on tape, I was blown away. Put it this way: If I'm building a team and I can choose between Eli Manning and Michael Vick, my money is on Peyton's little brother.

This kid can't miss. Yeah, easy for me to say. I'm not the G.M. with a high draft pick who can't afford to drop a $10 million signing bonus on the next Akili Smith or Cade McNown. But I see no way--none whatsoever--that Eli Manning won't be a guy you build a franchise around and line up every Sunday for the next 10 years. Like his brother.

Eli, in fact, is a better quarterback than Peyton was when he left college. David Cutcliffe, who was Peyton's position coach for four years at Tennessee and has been Eli's head coach for five (including a redshirt season) at Ole Miss, told me that, and I can see why. Eli is as well-schooled as a 23-year-old can be.

For five years, Eli has been soaking up everything Cutcliffe taught Peyton at Tennessee. For longer than that, he has been studying film with his brother and talking to him every day. And can you imagine having Archie Manning as your mentor since before you could ride a bike? It's almost unfair, like growing up in a family of Oscar winners and having Robert De Niro as your godfather.

Another advantage for Eli was that he didn't play in his brother's SEC. When Peyton was at Tennessee, the SEC was more run-oriented and defenses weren't particularly complex. They are now, thanks to the introduction of NFL-style defenses by the likes of LSU coach Nick Saban and the evolution of the SEC into more of a passing conference. Eli has seen more disguised coverages and zone blitzes than Peyton ever dreamed about in Knoxville. As a result, Eli can do things at the line of scrimmage--change the play, adjust the formation--that Peyton wasn't comfortable doing until he'd been with the Colts for a while.

Eli already is showing the poise for which Peyton is renowned. Off the field, Eli is media savvy. In the fishbowl world that only a Manning at Archie's school can ...