- Kentucky Wildcat signal caller catapults past C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. as the betting favorite at BetOnline.
- Will Levis is projected to be the No. 2 overall draft pick and second quarterback off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft.
- QB C.J. Stroud’s draft stock is falling, according to the latest 2023 NFL Draft odds.
As the 2023 NFL Draft quickly approaches, there has been a shake-up in the betting odds. While the NFL Draft odds suggest Alabama’s Bryce Young is a lock for the first overall pick, there has not been a consensus choices as to who will be selected following him.
That was until the largest odds shift of the week happened. According to BetOnline, QB Will Levis is favored to go off the board to the Houston Texans with the No. 2 overall selection.
Currently, Levis has -140 odds to be the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. This takes into account a possible trade as well. The Texans could trade this selection to another team if the right offer is presented.
While Will Levis’ Stock Rises, C.J. Stroud Lags Behind
NFL Draft betting odds and mock drafts pointed to either Young or Stroud going No. 1 and No. 2 in the Draft. The consensus was that whoever was left after the Carolina Panthers selected first, was going to be the No. 2 selection.
However, the odds no longer indicate that this scenario is going to happen. Stroud has +700 odds of being selected with the first pick and +425 odds of leaving the board at No. 2.
Instead, Levis, who has been a polarizing prospect leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft, is the odds-on favorite to be selected right behind Young.
Will Levis when kept clean over the past two seasons:
🔹 37 Touchdowns
🔹 91.6 PFF Grade pic.twitter.com/il5cXi6Paa— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 23, 2023
The outlook for Levis in the NFL appears to be split down the middle. Expectations range all the way from Levis being the next Jake Locker or Kyle Boller to Carson Wentz or Josh Allen.
Levis is one of the most prototypical NFL quarterbacks out of this class. Standing at 6’4” and 229 pounds, Levis is a pocket passer that has an NFL-caliber arm. He also has an underrated ability to scramble and can be tough to bring down as a runner.
Is Levis the Next Kyle Boller or Josh Allen?
His numbers were not particularly impressive in his final collegiate campaign. However, the same could be said for Allen at Wyoming.
Like Allen, Levis played in a pro-style system in college that stressed ball control. Levis did not have dynamic playmakers around him to show the most out of his quick release and exemplary arm strength.
The 23-year-old native of Newton, Massachusetts, passed for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 2022. He was bothered by multiple injuries, most notably to his foot which limited his ability to run effectively.
When Levis is healthy, he runs downhill with a nose for the end zone similar to Allen. With a foot injury and a bad offensive line at Kentucky last season, Levis was unable to showcase all of his abilities in 2022.
That being said, there were times when Levis was unable to put enough touch on his ball to find his receivers. His accuracy was brought into question in several games.
If Levis fails in the NFL, he will not be the first highly-rated college quarterback with a big arm to be a bust. Boller and Locker both had cannons for arms, but they didn’t know how to use them properly.
We’ve referenced Bryce Young’s S2 score—I’m told Kentucky QB Will Levis wasn’t far off from Young on it, with a score of 93 on the test (Joe Burrow, Justin Fields and Josh Allen aced the S2 coming out).
Levis has 30 visits with the Titans, Bucs & Falcons this week, per sources.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 10, 2023
Why Is Stroud Falling Out of Favor With Oddsmakers?
Stroud’s recent slide in the 2023 NFL Draft betting odds begs the question: what is the driving force behind Levis leapfrogging him just a few days before the Draft?
Could it be Stroud’s putrid results in the S2 Cognition test? According to leaked test results, Stroud’s 18th percentile ranked much worse than his first-round competition.
Young (98th percentile), Levis (93rd percentile), and Anthony Richardson (73rd percentile) all did much better than Stroud on the S2 Cognition test.
The evaluation tool records game-speed cognitive reaction times to various situations on a specialized laptop.
Stroud did not do anything to help elevate his draft stock with this effort. However, was it bad enough to drop him behind Levis? Bettors seem to believe so.
We may not be done with large changes to the NFL Draft odds just yet. There is still plenty of time to see more changes at BetOnline. With no recent public statements from GMs regarding Levis and Stroud, we are only left to speculate on what they are thinking.
Levis has one of the biggest arms and quickest releases in the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite being a rookie, he would immediately have one of the snappiest releases in the NFL this upcoming season.
With that said, Levis will continue to be perceived as one of the most boom or bust prospects in this year’s NFL Draft.
