Welcome to the fourth daily installment of the NFL Draft 1-through-32 series on DK Pittsburgh Sports, intended to introduce you, a prospect at a time, to the top 32 players in the class on a consensus basis, leading right up to the main event.
That, of course, will be April 27-29, in Kansas City, Mo., though all 32 teams, including the Steelers on the South Side, will operate from their local headquarters.
NO. 4: WILL LEVIS
Kentucky quarterback
The fourth-ranked player on Pro Football Focus' Big Board, Levis has the physical build to be an NFL quarterback, but concerns with his accuracy have raised some eyebrows in comparison with other top-end quarterbacks in this draft.
COLLEGE BACKGROUND
Levis signed with Penn State out of high school and played in 14 games between the 2019 and 2020 seasons in Happy Valley, before transferring to Kentucky for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
In those two years in Lexington, Levis threw for 43 touchdowns, which is fifth in Kentucky program history, and tallied 5,233 passing yards, sixth in Kentucky history.
Levis is a two-time team captain at Kentucky who completed 65.4% of his passes for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while dealing with nagging foot, finger, and shoulder injuries in his senior season. Over his two-year career as a Wildcat, Levis threw 23 interceptions.
The Middletown, Conn., native was a three-star prospect out of high school who chose Penn State among 24 offers. Out of high school, Levis profiled as a pro-style passer at 6-foot-4, 222 pounds.
NFL COMBINE, PRO DAY
Levis measured at 6-foot-4, 229 pounds with a 32-inch arm length and a 10 5/8-inch hand width at the NFL Combine. He earned a prospect grade of 6.34, fourth-highest among quarterbacks at the Combine, which means he "will eventually be (a) plus starter." He also received an NFL Next Gen Stats grade of 81, fifth highest among quarterbacks, which is considered "good."
Levis showed his athleticism by jumping a 34-inch vertical and a 10-foot-4 broad jump at the Combine. His athleticism score checked at an 84, which ranked fifth among Combine QBs. The largest knock on Levis, per NFL analyst Lance Zierlein, is that he "could require a talented quarterback coach and a patient plan to tighten up his mechanics, rebuild his confidence and explore an offensive scheme that best suits him."
Reports out of Levis' Pro Day say he threw multiple balls at 60 or more air yards. Reviews were generally kept positive as he showed his athleticism in front of scouts, and despite the criticism of his accuracy into the event, Levis generated enough plays which nearly made that an afterthought:
He launched this 60 yards on a rope π³π@UKFootball | @will_levis pic.twitter.com/IxJ4opNd0o
β SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 24, 2023
Will Levis showing off for the NFL at Pro Day pic.twitter.com/ON6KYx6Isk
β Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) March 24, 2023
MOCK DRAFT
The USA Today mock draft consensus tracker pins Levis at No. 5 overall to Seattle, with an average draft slotting at 5.0. Out latest mock draft has Levis going to Detroit at No. 18 overall.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE STEELERS' STANDPOINT
If the Steelers take a quarterback in the first round for the second straight year, we're going to have a problem.
COREY'S TAKE
Throw the records, the stats, and the accolades out of the window. Levis plummeted on my draft board the instant I saw this, which I consider a MAJOR character flaw
Viewer discretion is STRICTLY advised:
Have you ever had Mayonnaise with your morning coffee?@UKFootball QB @will_levis is known to dabble w/ said combo π³ pic.twitter.com/ZuR92Toa4m
β CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 20, 2022
What kind of MONSTER puts MAYONNAISE in their COFFEE!?
I covered Luke Fortner during my working days in Toledo. Fortner went to high school in the Toledo area and was Levis' center for a season at Kentucky before being drafted by Jacksonville last year. Being the hard-nosed, investigative journalist I am, I promptly reached out to Fortner upon seeing the mayo-coffee fiasco hit my timeline.
This video surfaced in July of 2022. Here is Fortner's response to me from back then when I asked him to explain it.
"I wish I could my man. ... We've tried (to stop him) but he's good at football," Fortner texted with a crying-laughter emoji.
This just makes me cry.
