Will Levis Scouting Report and NFL Draft Profile

Will Levis Scouting Report

2023 NFL Draft Measurements

Will Levis 40-Yard Dash: 4.65 (estimate)

6‘3“ / 232 lbs.

 

Will Levis Draft Profile

When you look at Will Levis’ family, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s considered a top prospect for the upcoming 2023 NFL draft. His great grandfather was an All-American football player at Cornell University and was a member of the 1939 National Championship team. Afterwards, he would coach at Colgate University, Hobart College, and Brown University. His father played tight end at Denston University. His mother was a two-time All-American soccer player at Yale. She was also inducted into the Connecticut Girls’ Soccer Association Hall of Fame. Heck, even his uncle was an Academic All-American football player at Yale.

Will himself was a three-year letter winner in football at Xavier High School in Madison, Connecticut. On the field, during his senior season, he set school records for passing yards (2,793), passing touchdowns (27), and completions. Off the field, he managed to get a 4.0 GPA throughout his prep career and won the Brother Celestine Academic Award. His hard work earned him a three-star rating by 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals.

Will Levis College Career

Levis originally signed with and attended Penn State out of high school. From 2018 through 2020, Will would see action in 15 games, making two starts. He would complete 61 of 102 passes for 644 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Sean Clifford was clearly entrenched as the Nitty Lions QB1 at this time. So, after earning a bachelor’s degree in finance in just three years, Levis would transfer to the University of Kentucky. In his first season with the Wildcats, he was named a starter and team captain.

Will would lead Kentucky to 10 wins in 2021, which was just the fourth time in school history that they had won 10+ games. During his two seasons with the Wildcats, Levis would skyrocket up the school’s record boards.

• 43 touchdown passes (5th in Kentucky history); accounted for 54 touchdowns total
• 5,233 passing yards (6th in Kentucky history)
• Had six 300+ yard passing games (4th most)
• 17-7 record overall (tied for second most wins since 1993)

After the Wildcats metoric rise in 2021, Levis was on NFL draft experts radar entering the 2022 season. Many experts were divided between Will and fellow SEC quarterback Bryce Young as to who was the best quarterback in the class.

Strengths

NFL Size

When you look at Levis, you see a quarterback that has the size to play in the NFL. At 6’3” he shouldn’t have any issues seeing over his offensive linemen. At 232 pounds, he’s big enough to withstand taking some shots from defensive lineman. In recent NFL drafts, this hasn’t been as big of a deal as it used to be. Players like Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Tua Tagovailoa were all taken high in the first round. None of them have the “prototypical” NFL build. For me, I’d like to have a quarterback that is built to handle the weekly beatings of playing in the NFL.

Will Levis Arm Strength

You can’t question Levis’ arm strength. He has plenty of juice in his right arm to make any throw on the field. Against Florida, he let one pass rip that traveled 60 yards in the air. He can use that strength on short and intermediate routes as well. Levis isn’t afraid of the challenge of a tight window. He has plenty of zip on these passes to beat tight coverage from a defensive back or linebacker.

Pro Offense Ready

This isn’t something that you get to say much with today’s style of play in college football. But at Kentucky they run your more typical pro style offense. I saw Levis under center just as much, if not more, than I saw him in shotgun. Even saw him running a quarterback sneak in a goal line situation. Something that seems to be a lost artform for today’s quarterbacks.

Weaknesses

Holds on too Long

Levis was sacked a good bit during his time at Kentucky. In the 24 games he played as a Wildcat, he was sacked 58 times. While I wasn’t impressed with Kentucky’s offensive line, a number of those sacks were on Levis himself. There were many times where he got himself into trouble simply by not getting rid of the ball. I’m not sure if it’s something with moving through his progressions too slow, or if he doesn’t trust what’s happening around him. But he’s going to need to get it figured out. We’ve all heard stories about how much quicker the NFL game is than college. Will is going to have even less time to get the ball out at the next level.

Something’s Missing

While watching Will Levis play, I constantly had this weird feeling. It took me a while to figure out why. The best way I could describe it is when you leave your house, and you have this funny feeling like you forgot something. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you just know that something’s missing. For me, Will Levis just doesn’t have that “it” factor. All this hype that I’ve heard about him coming into the season and when I watch him I just think “meh.”

You would think that a potential first round pick would be the focal point of his team’s attack. However, Levis has only averaged roughly 25 passing attempts per game during his time at Kentucky. There’s also a noticeable difference between his numbers versus a Group of 5 team and other Power 5 opponents. In six games versus Group of 5 teams, he averaged 337 yards per game passing. He also finished those six games with 19 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. However, in his 18 games against a Power 5 opponent those numbers dropped big time. Levis averaged just 178 yards a game passing, threw 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Will Levis Draft Stock

When the 2022 season started, Will Levis was considered by many experts to be the best quarterback in this draft class. Sadly, for Levis, he has since been overtaken by the likes of Alabama’s Bryce Young (who we have going #3 in our midseason mock) and Ohio State’s CJ Stroud. Still, most mocks not only have Will has a first-round pick, but a top-10 pick a well.

Final Thoughts on Will Levis

I can’t question the fact that Levis has the tools required to be a NFL quarterback. Size, arm strength, enough athleticism to extend plays… it’s all there. But when I look at him currently, I see more hype than anything. I think that he would do well to sit behind a veteran quarterback for a couple of seasons, rather than being thrown out day 1 as a starter/face of the franchise. If I was running a team, I would feel way more comfortable taking Will around the 3rd round, rather than the 1st (let alone a top-10 pick).

Will Levis Player Comparison

I had trouble really pegging a solid comparison for Will. In the end, I settled on Matt Ryan. While I think that Levis has more arm talent than Ryan did coming out of Boston College, if but in the right situation I could see Levis carving out a similar career.

Will Levis Scouting Report Analyst – Brandon Claburn