Our “Why the Slide” series parallels and grew out our “Why Undrafted” series. The latter was created a number of years ago in response to your questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For both series, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”
Both series are back this year. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
While Will Levis did not have a huge season for Kentucky in 2022, he received a lot of media hype in March and April as the 2023 NFL Draft approached. Levis was expected to be a first-round pick, and some at ESPN were saying the Colts would take him at No. 4 and that the team had Levis graded ahead of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. Those ESPN analysts were wrong as the Colts took Richardson over Levis. There were also ESPN reporters that said the Texans were not high on C.J. Stroud and preferred Levis. That also was wrong. While Levis was expected to go in Round 1, he slipped all the way to the second round.
In speaking to team sources at multiple teams, there were a number of reasons why Levis slid in the 2023 NFL Draft, starting with underwhelming tape from 2022. Multiple team sources from quarterback-needy franchises did not like Levis because he lacked feel and instincts as a passer. Here was a concerning quote that was in our Will Levis Scouting Report:
“He has no feel,” said an AFC director of player personnel. “He doesn’t feel the rush, holds onto the ball too long, gets his a** knocked off, and takes some bad sacks. He has poor decision-making and tries to strong arm the ball into traffic. I hate to say it, but he reminded me of Jeff Driskel.”
Those issues were why Levis slid out of the first round.
The Tennessee Titans ended Levis slide early in the second round, and the team was a good landing spot for him. In Tennessee, he can learn behind Ryan Tannehill, and it will help Levis to watch how much faster he needs to get the ball out at the pro level. Tannehill’s presence affords Levis valuable developmental time, and that also lets Levis get more comfortable with the playbook and his knowledge of NFL defenses. Given Tannehill’s age and contract, he probably won’t be with the Titans beyond the 2023 season, so the opportunity is there for Levis to become the long-term starter. If Levis impresses behind the scenes and when he gets his opportunities to play, he could end up as the long-term signal-caller for Tennessee. The Titans are a great opportunity for Levis to have a good pro career.
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