Former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis fell out of the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft Thursday (April 27) night.
Levis, who was long projected to be among the draft's top quarterback prospects, sat in the greenroom as 31 teams chose other players, which included the Carolina Panthers selecting former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young at No. 1 overall, the Houston Texans taking former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2 overall and the Indianapolis Colts selecting former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson at No. 4 overall.
ESPN's Mel Kiper -- who predicted Levis would be taken by the Colts at No. 4 overall in his mock draft and spent a large portion of the network's live draft broadcast praising the 23-year-old's skillset -- ranked the former Kentucky quarterback as his best player remaining on the board ahead of the second-round, which will begin on Friday (April 28) night.
Levis had been one the most polarizing prospects in the draft with many projecting him to be a top-10 pick and others expressing doubts regarding his transition to the NFL. One NFL team that reportedly considered Levis viewed the left toe injury that caused Levis to miss two games last season as "problematic," according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Another team reportedly believed the quarterback could have managed the injury, but thought a discussion about surgery would be necessary after the season. Levis has, however, claimed that his "toe has healed" and he would be ready for the 2023 NFL season.
Levis threw for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 185 of 283 passing during his final collegiate season. The 23-year-old transferred to Kentucky in 2021 after graduating from Penn State, having only appeared in three games during his two non-redshirt seasons with the Nittany Lions.
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