2023 Raiders NFL Draft: Will Levis – Pick Or Pass?

Jeff Spiegel
Jeff Spiegel
4 Min Read
Kentucky's Will Levis grimaces while hoisting the 2022 Governor's Cup trophy after the Wildcats defeated Louisville. Nov. 26, 2022 Louisville Vs Kentucky 2022 Football Syndication The Courier Journal

At the end of the 2021 season, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis could probably feel the spotlight burning down on him. He had just finished a breakout junior season that put him firmly on the map for the 2023 draft — and some even had him marked as a sleeper for the No. 1 overall pick.

But then the 2022 season happened and Levis, without top target Wandale Robinson and two offensive linemen who heard their names called in the draft, struggled a bit. Yes, the arm strength and athleticism were still present — but so were the fear-inducing inconsistencies that keep decision-makers up at night.

When I watched some Levis tape, it was a total rollercoaster. On one hand, he makes some throws that look like NFL throws — and he does it with all the prototypical size you could hope for. But on the other hand, some of the interceptions are head-scratchers that make me question what in the world he saw and was thinking. It’s worth noting that Levis’s tape looks different from Bryce Young’s and CJ Stroud’s in that his receivers never seem to be open and he’s always under pressure. He also falls victim to some drops that probably would have helped him pad his stats a bit.

At the end of the day, I think Levis falls into the same category as Anthony Richardson — he’s a project with a high upside and a low floor. I think Levis probably has a higher floor than Richardson (his passing is far more developed), but he lacks the elite athleticism of the Florida quarterback. Whether or not the Las Vegas Raiders can trust Josh McDaniels to develop either is going to be a key question.

Will Levis, NFL Draft, Las Vegas Raiders
Nov 26, 2022; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis (7) poses with the Governor’s Cup trophy after winning the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Height: 6’4″ 

Weight: 229 pounds

40-yard-dash: NA

Bench Press: NA

Vertical jump: 34″

Broad jump: 10’4″

College stats: 5,876 yards, 46 TD, 25 INT, 64.9% completion; 742 rushing yards, 17 TD

The completion percentage is surprising, I think, to a lot of folks who assumed it would be far worse. Yes, he’s inconsistent, but that number was inflated a bit by the number of screens, quick slants and check downs you see on tape. None of that is a bad thing, by the way, it’s just the reality of his situation.

As mentioned above, Levis has the size you’re looking for in a sturdy NFL quarterback. This is Justin Herbert-level stuff from a size and athleticism combination, it just remains to be seen whether he can put together the passing game that Herbert has developed.

VERDICT: PICK

This is the Raiders’ chance to find their signal caller of the future, and I think Levis falls into the bucket of guys I would absolutely take a swing on if the chance presented itself. Would I feel awesome about it? No. Is there a high chance of this blowing up in their face? Absolutely. But if you want to win consistently, you have to take your swings, and Levis has enough “good” on tape to get me to buy in a little bit. I don’t think he’s in the class of Young and Stroud, but I think there are compelling cases between both him and Richardson as to who should be the No. 3 quarterback in this class.

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Jeff Spiegel was raised in California but currently resides in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he worked in sports before entering journalism full time — first as a Sports Reporter and then as the Associate Editor of a small newspaper. Online, he has been writing about both the Raiders and Dodgers since 2012 — having written for DodgersNation.com and SBNation.com prior to joining both DodgerBlue.com and RaidersNewswire.com. He left full-time journalism in 2012 to become a pastor. Jeff can be found on Twitter at @JeffSpiegel. Favorite Raider This one is an easy one for me: Charles Woodson. When the Raiders drafted him, there was nothing to dislike about the guy — he was exciting and he was freaking good. Unfortunately, of course, he left after eight seasons — but when he returned in 2013 it was one of the better Raider moments of my lifetime. At that point, I didn't care how washed he was (and he wasn't!) — I just liked having him back in the silver and black. Obviously Tim Brown is another guy that was easy to love, but Woodson is the all-timer for me. As far as current, I'm still a believer in Derek Carr and think he's going to figure this all out. Favorite Raider Moment I think I'll go with the two weeks leading up to the 2001 Super Bowl. As a kid, I remember getting the newspaper every morning to read what they were talking about, clipping out the articles to keep for later. It was obviously far more exciting than the Super Bowl itself, but I'll never forget those moments of hope leading up to the Super Bowl. I referenced it above, but second to that was probably the return of Charles Woodson in 2013 — I just loved the guy, and never dreamed he'd actually come back.