Seemingly overnight, Kentucky QB Will Levis joined Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud at the top of most 'too-early draft boards' for 2023. Levis went through the 2021 season with a much lower profile than the eventual Heisman Trophy winner and Buckeye finalist, but with the hype he’s gotten this offseason, he’ll fly under the radar no more.
Falcons fans are well aware of what Young and Stroud bring to the table as prospects, but if Atlanta falls out of the top 3 picks of the 2023 draft, they’ll likely be off the board. As the Falcons attempt to determine if they’ve got their quarterback of the future on the roster on Sundays, fans may want to tune in to some Wildcat football on Saturdays this fall to see what Levis has to offer.
Scouts are instantly drawn to Levis’ size at 6-3, 230 pounds with ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also highlighting his “wow-arm talent” and mobility. Leading Kentucky to a 10-3 record, the Penn State transfer threw for just over 2,800 yards with 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 66% of his passes in 2021. He also added nine rushing touchdowns.
In addition to cutting down on the turnovers, experts say he needs to work on his footwork this upcoming season. Levis agreed speaking with 92.9 The Game at SEC Media Days.
Other than what he needs to work on within his game, Levis isn’t concerned about mock drafts and projections as Kentucky prepares for the grind of an SEC regular season.
“Can’t not see those things, but I try not to think about it as much as possible. I know that what matters right now is the task at hand and our goals that we have for our team, and I know that if we take care of business as a team, all the individual stuff will just fall into place afterwards,” Levis said.
For the Falcons, Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota will compete for the starting job in training camp. With several talented signal-callers in the upcoming draft class, the clock is ticking for both players to convince the front office that the Falcons don’t need to be in the quarterback business in next year’s draft.
*Also, it remains to be seen how NFL teams will factor Levis putting mayo in his coffee into their evaluations throughout the draft process.