On Thursday night, Will Levis was expected to become just the third quarterback in Kentucky football history to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Then the unthinkable happened, he didn’t.
For over a year, Levis has been considered to be one of the four best quarterback prospects available and has been ranked at each of the four spots. However, coming into this week, Levis had momentum on his side and had jumped to second in the odds – behind only Bryce Young – for the No. 1 pick, thanks in large part to a Reddit post.
In addition to the momentum, the consensus from draft analysts was that Levis would most likely go 2-4, to either the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans (via trade), or the Indianapolis Colts. As the top five picks were announced, three quarterbacks were taken, but Levis was not one of them. As more picks were announced, Will Levis was the last man standing in the NFL draft room as he was not selected in the first round, something that ESPN says had less than a 0.1 percent chance of happening.
What was expected to be an exciting night for the Kentucky football program and Levis, ended dejectedly.
Given the circumstances, Levis will have no shortage of motivation wherever he is drafted, and one of the best young players in the league had that same message. Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Pro Bowl selection, Sauce Gardner, tweeted Levis, “God makes no mistakes. You will be great.”
The two primary reasons that have been given for the drop are: Levis is 24 years old and is considered a “project” by some teams; Worries about his toe injury from early last season. With that said, Levis is the best prospect available and will almost certainly be selected in the second round, but the question is, will he be taken by a team that is in need of a quarterback or one that has an average to below-average starter?
Some morning reports already suggest that Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that is interested in trading up to No. 32 (the first pick of the second round) per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
Time will tell.
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