Why the Saints should avoid drafting Will Levis in the 2023 NFL Draft

Feb 3, 2023 - 3:00 PM

Will Levis is undoubtedly one of the most polarizing figures in the 2023 NFL draft. He’s been compared to the likes of Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, and Matt Stafford. At 6’3” and 232 lbs, he has the perfect quarterback build.

He’s also spent two years in a pro-style offense at the University of Kentucky. The former Wildcat has shown he has some of the best arm talent in this year’s class. While Levis has many positives, I believe the New Orleans Saints should avoid him at all costs.

Levis is the definition of having upside traits but being far from a finished product. While his arm talent is NFL-ready, his accuracy and processing are not. Levis will often miss very easy throws from all areas of the field. I believe most of these accuracy issues are mechanically based. While Levis has shown he can throw from different arm angles, this will also lead to him throwing at different angles when he doesn’t need to.

Levis likes to throw from a 3⁄4 release. He will also have super inconsistent footwork at times. This will include tendencies like picking up his back leg or having choppy feet. He sometimes struggles to read defenses and will become paranoid in the pocket. This struggle will lead him to take off ill-advised ad times. While I am aware he had a poor offensive line, even in clean pockets, the 23-year-old would take off for no reason instead of letting a play develop.

Levis will likely need to sit a year, and as of right now, the Saints seem to be in a win-now mode. He’s likely a guy who will make a ton of mistakes early on and is going to need to adjust to the NFL.

So, throwing him in the fire right out of the gate would be the worst thing the Saints could do. Even if the Saints planned to sit him, I’m just not sure I trust this current coaching staff to develop him into what some think he could be.

While Levis has a lot of potential, I think it will just take so much for him to put it all together. Most mock drafts have him going in the top ten, and I personally wouldn’t want to trade into the top ten for a project quarterback.

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