Getty New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner walking off of the football field after a big play.
ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr said he is “shocked” that his second-ranked quarterback Will Levis is still available as we head into the second day of the 2023 draft.
The former Kentucky product was a consensus first-round pick in the majority of mock drafts leading up to Thursday, April 27. Despite that Levis remains without a team as we head into Friday, April 28.
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner took to social media to send a powerful message of encouragement
“Will Levis… God makes no mistakes. You will be great.”
Levis was one of the 17 players that were invited to Kansas City to participate in the 2023 NFL draft festivities. Only four of those players didn’t hear their names called on the first night of the draft.
Will Levis Draft Fall Explanation, Jets Unlikely to Swing
One of the possible explanations for Levis’ dramatic slide is an injury issue.
“Will Levis’ left toe that caused him to miss two games last year was problematic for one team that considered him.” ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen explained. “Levis says the toe has healed and [is] good to go. Another team believes Levis could manage it but thought surgery would need discussion after season. Levis disagrees.”
Will Levis’ left toe that caused him to miss two games last year was “problematic “ for one team that considered him.
Levis says the “toe has healed” and good to go.
Another team believes Levis could manage it but thought surgery would need discussion after season.
Levis…
The 23-year-old is set to become 24 before the start of the 2023 season.
Levis is built like a Greek god with an amazing physique (6-foot-4, 229 pounds) but his tape is wildly inconsistent.
In his two seasons at Kentucky, he threw for 5,232 passing yards, owned a 43 touchdown to 23 interceptions, and completed 65.7 percent of his passes.
The tape from 2021 is a lot better than the tape from 2022. Part of that can be excused away due to a poor support system around him with so much talent leaving the program.
Jets Are an Unlikely Landing Spot for QB Will Levis on Day 2 of NFL Draft
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said the Jets taking a quarterback early in the draft “shouldn’t be entirely ruled out” in a column posted on April 5. However, he categorized the odds of that actually transpiring as “slim at best.”
He did say that he could see something transpiring on the third day of the draft if the Jets saw someone they were interested in.
No one expected Levis to be available in the second round, so perhaps that’ll change the Jets tune but it seems unlikely.
Gang Green has made it a concerted effort from the end of last season to pump up Zach Wilson. The brass has used terms like “through hell or high water” in support of their guy and head coach Robert Saleh went as far as to say he’ll be the No. 2 quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers in 2023.
After all of that chatter from every level of the organization, it would strike me as odd that they’d be willing to throw that all away to reset at the QB position with a highly touted youngster in 2023.
Rodgers is 39 years of age and will turn 40 during the 2023 season so you can never say never.