It’s never too early for a mock draft, is it?
The New York Giants are already being forecast to select a quarterback with their first pick of the 2023 NFL draft, just days after the conclusion of this year’s draft.
ESPN senior writer Todd McShay released his early 2023 NFL mock draft on May 5, forecasting the Giants having the eighth overall pick and taking quarterback Will Levis out of Kentucky.
“Levis needs to find more consistency,” McShay wrote, “but he has a live arm and a big 6-foot-3, 232-pound frame. He has thrived in the quick game at Kentucky, with a lot of run-pass options and screen-type stuff, but there are some Josh Allen-like traits here for new Giants coach Brian Daboll.”
Given Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen’s success with Allen in Buffalo, it could make sense for the pair to try their approach again in New York.
Levis, 22, arrived at Kentucky following a stint at Penn State, where he was a backup quarterback in 2019 and 2020. He started all 13 of Kentucky’s games last year, winning numerous in-season awards, including FBS Offensive Player of the Week twice and the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week twice.
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In his 13 games last season, he threw for 2,826 yards and ran for 376 more, recording 33 total touchdowns. He was a catalyst for the Wildcats’ recording only their fourth-ever 10-win season. Levis concluded his season by leading his team to a Citrus Bowl victory, going for 233 yards and a touchdown in the 20-17 victory over Iowa. CBS Sports analyst Barrett Sallee praised Levis on May 2 for his promising 2021 campaign, before adding, “I think he’ll be one of the best quarterbacks in the country when it’s all said and done in 2022”
Levis Already Has Giants Ties
In his mock draft, McShay noted the connection Levis and the Giants already have, writing: “Levis connected with receiver Wan’Dale Robinson — whom the Giants drafted in Round 2 this year — 104 times last season.”
Selected 43rd overall in the second round, Robinson easily had the best season of his collegiate career in his lone season with the Wildcats after two years at Nebraska. En route to second-team All-SEC honors, he recorded 1,334 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, shattering all of his previous personal records.
Daniel Jones Remains a Priority
While there’s talk of what the Giants might do next season at quarterback, Schoen has made a proclamation regarding the immediate future. Appearing May 4 on WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” radio show he unequivocally established Daniel Jones as starting quarterback for next season when asked whether the position was up for grabs, saying “Daniel Jones is a starter for us. We were very clear with Tyrod [Taylor] and his representatives when he came in.”
This would appear to dispel any notion that Taylor would compete for the starting position, as Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com had theorized in a March 18 story. Jones, whose fifth-year option the Giants declined on April 28, will have his season to prove whether he truly is the Giants’ quarterback of the future.
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Todd McShay Forecasts Giants Drafting ‘Josh Allen-Like’ QB in 2023