Will Levis is being projected as a top 10 draft pick already. (Vicky Graff Photo)
How high will Kentucky quarterback Will Levis go in the NFL Draft in April?
He’s being projected as a top 10 pick by most and gets a chance to enhance his value starting today at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
ESPN, 247Sports, CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports are currently projecting that the Las Vegas Raiders will select him with the seventh overall pick. NFL.com is predicting he will be picked fifth by Carolina after a trade with Seattle while the Pro Football Network has him going to Carolina with the sixth pick after a trade with Detroit. USA Today also has Levis going to the Panthers at No. 9.
Levis should impress NFL teams during interviews at the NFL Combine. Often projected top draft picks don’t do a lot to showcase their skills because they have too much to lose with a bad outing. But the team interviews are a given and Levis should excel in those situations.
He went 17-7 as a starter at UK and had impressive games against Georgia in 2021 and 2022 as well as Iowa to end the 2021 season. Both Georgia and Iowa had big-time defenses that Levis did well against.
Levis threw for 5,233 yards, sixth all time in UK history, and in 2022 he had 2, 406 yards and 19 touchdowns by completing 185 of 283 passes in 11 games.
NFL Network coverage of the Combine will have five hours of live coverage starting at 3 p.m. today of the defensive linemen and linebacker. There will be five more hours of coverage of defensive backs and special teams on Friday starting at 3 and then seven hours of live coverage of quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends on Saturday beginning at 1. NFL Network’s Combine coverage ends with six hours of live coverage of offensive linemen and running backs Sunday starting at 1.
Levis is not the only UK player who will be at the combine. He will be joined by offensive lineman Tashawn Manning, running back Chris Rodriguez and defensive back Carrington Valentine. This is the third straight year UK has had at least four players invited to the combine and fourth time in the last five years it has happened.
Coach Mark Stoops has now had 37 players invited to the combine since 2013 and 28 have come since 2019.
Rodriguez is coming off an impressive Senior Bowl experience. He led UK with 904 yards rushing and six scores on 175 carries last year and is third all-time in all-time rushing yards (3,644). His power and durability could make him a second-day draft pick.
Valentin is giving up his final year of eligibility to enter the draft. The corner led the SEC in passes defended with 11 last year and had 48 tackles, 10 pass breakups and one interception. He has not shown up on many mock drafts but Pro Football Network has tagged him as a potential NFL starter.
Manning’s invitation was a bit of a surprise considering the issues the UK offensive line had last season. He transferred to UK from Auburn where he started 14 games, played in 30 games and was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the team’s best run blocker in 2021. He started 12 games at right guard for UK in 2022.
