Kentucky Football has had a major shift since Mark Stoops arrived on campus producing 21 draft picks in his ten years as head coach which is unheard of. The ability Stoops and his staff have shown to develop the talent of 2-3 star players is fantastic.
This has made Kentucky a much more appealing destination for recruits everywhere seeing they can also develop you and get you ready for the next step as these other top SEC schools can do.
Kentucky is looking to add its fourth first-round pick in the Stoops era in Will Levis with the other three being Bud Dupree, Josh Allen, and Jamin Davis. They are also projecting Carrington Valentine and Chris Rodriguez Jr. to be the other Wildcats drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Let’s take a look at the draft day projections.
Will Levis
CBS Sports: 2nd (Houston Texans)
ESPN, Mel Kiper Jr: 4th (Indianapolis Colts)
NFL.com: 12th (Houston Texans)
PFF: 4th (Indianapolis Colts)
Will Levis stepped on campus in 2021 ready to make a difference for Kentucky and that’s what he did. He had an excellent 2021 season leading them to another 10-win season, then struggled in 2022 with an injury-riddled season with very poor o-line play and a bad offensive coordinator.
The hype on Will Levis before the 2022 season has not gone away though, he has shown time and time again that he has the tools to be a great QB at the next level. His adjustments made at the line along with a huge stature, elite athleticism, and a cannon of an arm.
People are either doubting Levis or very high on him. He will be the first Quarterback taken in the 1st round since Tim Couch and possibly the first Kentucky Quarterback to start an NFL game since Couch in 2003.
Chris Rodriguez
CBS Sports: 149th (Green Bay Packers)
NFL.com: 160th (New York Giants)
PFF: 247th (San Francisco 49ers)
Rodriguez had a fantastic career for Kentucky racking up 3643 yards and 33 TD rushing in his 5 seasons as a Wildcat. He is looking to make the next step by going to the NFL this year.
Rodriguez has the size of an NFL running back but the question for him is his speed and his ability to catch passes out of the backfield with the way the league is trending. With him projected to go anywhere in the 5th-7th round range.
Rodriguez was the backbone of the UK backfield during his time here and hopefully, he will find success at the next level.
Carrington Valentine
CBS Sports: 150th (Washington Commanders)
NFL.com: 142nd (Cleveland Browns)
PFF: Undrafted
The improvement from Carrington Valentine from the time he first stepped onto Kentucky’s campus is incredible. He went from where he was to being Kentucky’s number-one corner in his junior season.
He has all the tools to be a great NFL corner being 6’0 with an incredible reach and great speed. He has been underrated for a couple of years now and it will be no different during the NFL draft this weekend.
If Valentine can find a good home for him in the draft, expect him to open a lot of eyes during his rookie season when he gets a chance to go out there and prove how good he is.
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