Why I Don’t Hate Will Levis

Let me start by saying, Young is my favorite qb in this draft by a country mile. It really sucks that we're going to miss out on him imo. However, Levis might not be a bad choice at QB especially if we go Defense at 2 and trade up from the 12th pick.

I'll start by saying his circumstances in Kentucky last season were less than ideal. Despite this, he seems to be a very driven player, especially considering his rehab from injury and willingness to play through injury last season. I don't advocate for players playing through injury, but I think he shows a lot of heart and want to improve. With the reports coming out against Stroud's work ethic and potential issues calling plays, Levis shows that if nothing else he would be willing to work harder at developing, which I think is an underrated factor.

On top of this, he may be the ideal qb for Slowik's offense. He'd be placed in a system with lots of movement, screens, etc. which could afford him extra time to make throws and go through reads. He's more mobile than Stroud and has had significantly more challenges in his college career. On top of this, he's got 2 full years of experience on top of his 2 years at Penn State which leads me to believe he's more pro-ready than a quarterback like Anthony Richardson. His circumstances coming in won't be easy, with questions regarding the receiving core, and I like the idea of bringing in a quarterback who has some more experience with adversity.

All in all, I think Levis has been getting a lot of criticism (some justified) despite doing all he can for the circumstances he was placed in. If he came in for us and had the season he just had for the Wildcats, he'd still be noticeably better than Mills in completion percentage, QBR, Touchdowns, and less interceptions. All of this while still being a raw prospect who could learn under Keenum. Ultimately, this is all we can ask of a drafted quarterback, especially since we're not expecting to compete next season. Is he who I wanted initially? No, not really, but with all the chaos that's surrounded the draft the last few days (especially with the Texans and what we're gonna do with 2nd overall), I'm making peace with Levis if he's the pick.