With the NFL Draft remaining one of the most bizarre events in sports, the highly-touted Kentucky quarterback prospect Will Levis has endured an unexpected slip down from the first round in the 2023’s Draft.
Levis began his career at Penn State, and after getting beat for the starting job, he transferred to Lexington after the end of the 2020 season where he completed 65.7 percent of his passes and threw 43 touchdowns against 23 interceptions during his two seasons tenure and won a three-man competition for the starting quarterback job in 2021.
Top quarterback prospect Will Levis unexpectedly falls out of the Top 10 in the 2023 NFL Draft
The longtime first-round projection Will Levis sat in the NFL draft green room from start to finish on Thursday night waiting for a call, albeit it never came and he eventually went 33rd overall to the Tennessee Titans, the second pick of Friday’s second-round.
ESPN projected a 92% chance of Levis’ getting picked in the top 10. Other three QBs flew off the board in the first four picks ahead of him-
CJ Stroud went to the Houston Texans with the second pick and Anthony Richardson was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the fourth pick, albeit the former Kentucky quarterback’s waiting game witnessed a disappointing end as the final pick was turned in and his name wasn’t on the ticket.
Some legendary names had run the NFL Draft greenroom gauntlet in the past- four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers was projected to go at the top of the 2005 NFL Draft, albeit he eventually went 24th and veteran TE Warren Sapp was predicted to go at the top five.
However, he to0 had to wait until getting called at 12th, hence, will is not the only one to witness the awkwardness and he has his whole career ahead to prove his worth like Aaron and Sapp did despite the unexpected slip down from the top list.
Multiple quarterback-needy teams passed on Levis Thursday, however, the signal caller’s biggest “red flag” was the left toe injury, leading him to miss two games last season and it was considered “problematic” by a team who thought about drafting him per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.
Regardless of the reasons, Levis will now have to prove himself on the field and overcome the awkwardness of the draft night snub.
The 6-foot-3, 232-pounder threw for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2021 as well as rushed for 376 yards and nine touchdowns, leading Kentucky to win 10 matches for just the fourth time in program history.
While the draft may not have gone exactly as planned for Levis, he will undoubtedly continue to work hard and strive for greatness in the NFL. For now, fans and analysts alike will probably be keeping a close eye on his progress as he prepares to embark on the next chapter of his football career.
