A transfer from Penn State, Will Levis won the starting job in Kentucky during the offseason, producing quite the highlight reels while in practice. He stood out in an NFL-type offense with Liam Cohen in 2021, before struggling through injuries in 2022 and losing Cohen to the Rams. The upside with Levis is that there are things that can consistently improve all the way across the board and you can essentially “level-up” Levis like a video game. That’s a wild bet, in my opinion.

Will Levis has a few things to clean up, but it’s clear immediately that the upside is here with some of the physical tools that he has. 

60-yard bombs should not look this effortless. I get why people are enamored with Will Levis pic.twitter.com/M9iuIY4Tcc

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) February 18, 2023

Levis played through injuries in 2022 and that showed clearly in his play. He missed a couple of games but played through them for the entire second half of the season. 

Will Levis’ scouting report

Quarterback Ability (65)

Arm Talent: 20

• Arm Strength (8/10) – Levis has flashed some serious arm talent this offseason. Does have an issue with his arm strength and still figuring it out as he will sail a route or two over the intended receiver. Drives the ball so well with velocity. Effortless passer. Ball comes out beautifully. 
• Touch Ability (3/5) – Flashes the ability to throw well with touch, but his mechanics last season completely changed when he attempted to. Threw off his back foot a lot to take velocity off of his throws. 
• Release (3.5/5) – Release motion is quick but the release point is very low. This limits Levis’ ability to layer the ball in between coverages. Very quick release from when he starts his set and motion. 

Accuracy/Placement: 25

• Accuracy (11/15) – Was pressed into service much to early last year, mechanics were still a little raw which forced his accuracy to be a good bit off. He’s improved and been more consistent in 2021, a lot of that can be attributed to scheme because of the quick throw/short pass designs that Kentucky mostly runs. 
• Placement/Vision (6/10) – Placement is spotty, tends to struggle with getting it to the right spot. Deep ball placement is mostly off, but away from the defender. It seems that Levis puts extra emphasis on ensuring his throw is away from the defender. 

Pocket Presence: 10

• Pocket Positioning (3/5) – Levis shows that ability to sit well in the pocket. Doesn’t step well into his throws under pressure, tends to step away and try to use solely his arm talent. 
• Pocket Maneuverability (3.5/5) – Moves well naturally to space from the pocket. Impressive natural feel for the play. Does get stone-footed at times and stands tall without movement. Want to see more consistent performance in this regard. Still learning how to work through pressure and step up in the pocket faster. Would like to see him move around a little bit more. 

Footwork: 10

• Consistency (3/5) – Still needs to work on his feet. Has the potential, but he’s still much too stiff in the bottom half. 
• Quickness (4/5) – Good, quick feet. Get’s to his spot and sets very quickly. 

Athleticism (20)

Mobility: 12

• Outside of the pocket (5/7) – Has the athleticism to get outside of the pocket. He’s pretty good throwing off platform. 
• Downfield Ability (4/5) – Levis is definitely a threat to run with the ball going downfield. Very capable athlete with a strong, physical, downhill running style. Doesn’t look to run often, but when he does he can be very dangerous. 

Improvability: 8

• Natural Improvability (2.5/4) – Certainly has some improvability to his game, mostly with his legs. Offers some limited improvability making things happen with his arm. 
• Play Extension (2/4) – I don’t think Levis is completely comfortable yet trying to extend plays and keep the structure of the play alive with his movement. He’s flashed moments when he’s been able to do it, but just isn’t consistent yet. 

Intelligence (15)

Football IQ/Field Vision: 10

• Football Intelligence (3.5/5) – Has absolute command of the Kentucky offense. The chemistry he’s formed with his teammates is extremely impressive already. Would really like to see him work through his progressions effectively under pressure and not take his eyes off the play downfield. Processing has gotten a lot better. 
• Ability to read pre-snap (3/5) – A lot of Levis’ mistakes in 2022 were based on bad pre-snap reads, which could be a result of a coaching drop-off. Still, it is concerning as pre-snap reads are vitally important.  

Overall: (74.5) – 3rd/4th Round