Tennessee Titans pick Will Levis at No. 33 and here is what they’re getting
Lorenzo Reyes breaks down what Will Levis will bring to the NFL after being selected by the Titans
USA TODAY
Sliding to the second round of the NFL draft actually fits the story of Will Levis’ football career more than being picked in the top 10 would have.
He seems to operate best when he’s slighted.
The Tennessee Titans sure looked like a team that valued what the former Kentucky quarterback will bring, trading up in the second round with the Arizona Cardinals to take him with the second pick and 33rd overall Friday.
Levis might do well to draw from former Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. Who could forget the image of the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time ACC Player of the Year slumped on a table, exasperated as his mother tried to console him while he waited for his phone to ring.
It finally did, as the 32nd and final pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft. And Jackson has continuously proven his doubters wrong, including on Thursday when — sans an agent — he finalized a deal with the Baltimore Ravens to make him the highest paid player in the NFL by average annual value.
There’s no way to deny how bad the optics were for Levis on Thursday night during the first round.
Levis reportedly took eight top 30 visits before the draft including the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts — all of which took quarterbacks. He was projected as a top-five pick by many and ESPN analytics even calculated that he had a 92% chance of being taken in the top 10.
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The nation saw glimpses of Levis trying — and failing — to mask his disappointment while seeing player after player exit the green room Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri, to take the stage with commissioner Roger Goodell while he sat surrounded by his family.
(The NFL needs to do a better job selecting which prospects to invite to the draft. Levis was the most discussed player left in the green room, but not the only one. Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., Georgia Tech edge rusher Keion White and Alabama safety Brian Branch were there, too.)
As he continued to fall on Thursday, the negative reports started coming out. One reporter on the ABC telecast said some teams thought Levis was “too cocky.” On ESPN they nitpicked issues with his accuracy. Things got so absurd from Levis dropping out of the first round that Bovada laid a betting line of +150 that Levis’ girlfriend will have a new boyfriend before the end of 2023.
But Levis has felt this kind of burn before.
Had Levis played high school football in the fertile recruiting grounds of Middletown, Florida; Middletown, Ohio; or Middletown, Pennsylvania, maybe he would have been noticed sooner. But Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut, where Levis played, isn’t exactly known for producing Division I talent.
Levis had to get out of Connecticut and create his own path. His break came the summer of his senior year when he attended a Florida State football camp and Jimbo Fisher offered him a scholarship. His offer from Penn State came shortly after — he also proved himself at a team camp in Happy Valley — only because Justin Fields decommitted.
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Three years at Penn State left Levis playing behind Sean Clifford and labeled as a running quarterback because of the offensive packages used for him. So again, there wasn’t much interest from major conference schools when he entered the transfer portal in 2021.
Rutgers was the only other Power Five school that recruited him heavily.
It took Kentucky coach Mark Stoops digging through his game footage and seeing Levis throw the ball for him to believe in his potential. Stoops’ belief brought Levis to Kentucky and ultimately led to him having his name called early Friday night.
Levis will eventually get a similar chance to have the last laugh and he doesn’t have to be a Most Valuable Player like Jackson to become a success. Levis will have the added benefit of playing behind veteran signal caller Ryan Tannehill and easing his way into the NFL. Had he been taken by the Colts at No. 4, he wouldn’t have that kind of luxury.
Levis has never had an easy road in his football career, but he seems to enjoy the challenge of proving himself. No need in changing that narrative now.
Reach sports columnist CL Brown at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @CLBrownHoops.