Fans Flabbergasted As Unexpected QB Pulls Ahead In NFL Draft Projections
Bryce Young. C.J. Stroud. Anthony Richardson. Hendon Hooker. Will Levis. And not necessarily in that order…
It’s another NFL draft. Nobody can say it’s the most exciting time of the football season, but it may very well be the most exciting moment during the off-season. Either way, it’s a great time to get together with your friends and family and sit together in a harmonious chorus of cheers, boos, and “who the hell is that guy-s”, while simultaneously eating something unnecessary enough to pair with this year’s edition of a getting blackout drunk on a Thursday that just so happens to be the same Thursday as that of the NFL Draft.
It’s a QB-heavy draft this year (thank the football gods), and the frontrunners at the position have been in a close-as-balls race to be the top prospect and the corresponding number-one overall pick in the upcoming draft. There are four QBs being considered and projected to be picked within the top 15 picks this year. Those QBs are:
Bryce Young, Alabama, (5-10, 204) The ubiquitous prospect who everyone says is too short to be a QB, but will still definitely come out and produce for a year or two on some team, just to prove a point.
C.J. Stroud, Ohio State, (6-3, 214) Great system QB, who becomes absolutely disheveled under pressure. Great accuracy.
Anthony Richardson, Florida, (6-4, 244) A potential-project prospect who put up Superman-type numbers during the combine. 99th-percentile freak-athlete with the frame of Zion Williamson.
Will Levis, Kentucky, (6-4, 229) The most prototypical/draft-ready QB. A typical “pro-style” passer, with a high ceiling and a higher floor than the rest of these guys probably.
It’s pretty average as far as NFL drafts go. There’s no way to know which of these players (if any) are going to find success at a professional level. If I was taking my best guess, I’d put them in this order: 1. Bryce Young, 2. C.J. Stroud, 3. Will Levis, and 4. Anthony Richardson. This is pretty close to the order most people have had them for weeks/months, but all of a sudden there’s been talk all over the league about Will Levis going number one overall.
Is Will Levis Going Number One Overall?
What? Really? Why now? What changed during these final days before the draft? Anything?
Smart money is on these latest developments being either A. Some sort of pre-draft trickery to veil intentions, or B. The fog of pre-draft trickery has finally cleared away somewhat, allowing us to establish a better idea of what teams are actually planning.
Obviously, nothing happened within the past few days to truly affect these prospects and their respective draft stock. … Or did something happen?
Currently, Vegas odds for the first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft are as follows:
Bryce Young (-1200) Will Levis (+550) C.J. Stroud (+2000) Anthony Richardson (+3500)
Incredible to see Will Levis sitting pretty at (+550) when only a week ago his odds were closer to (+2500) to be picked first overall. On DraftKings sportsbook, Levi’s odds to be the top pick moved from 40-1 to 4-1 on Tuesday morning. Insane odd shifts.
Apparently, he may have always been seen as the prize of this draft class, and now that the pre-draft fog of war is fading away, plenty of waffling sportswriters have been quick to say that Will Levis was going to go first all along and that they’ve been saying this the whole time (spoiler, they haven’t).
The argument being made is that even though Bryce Young may be a generational talent, his size is a real-deal issue, and Will Levis is seen as a much safer, by-the-book type of prospect, whose floor is higher than all of the others.
Good Intel Or Bad Info?
Reportedly, the movement may have been spurred by a REDDIT POST of all things. The drastic shift in odds traces to a Reddit post that claims Levis is telling friends and family that the Panthers have told him he’ll be the top pick.
Some people are likening the possible events of this year’s draft to that of Baker Mayfield going first in the 2018 NFL Draft, which surprised many, but overall the decision came down to which QB was the most pro-ready. This year doesn’t look much different. Obviously, never trust anything you read on the internet, but if you are going to bet on the first man off the board before the draft on Thursday… Maybe pick Will Levis. At (+550), it could be an easy money maker. As always, gamble responsibly.
Closing Notes
As a Patriots fan, I can’t wait to watch Belichick trade down ten times, pass up every flashy prospect, and acquire another year’s worth of coveted special teamers and unexciting depth pieces. … To think the Patriots had Will Levis in for a visit last week. … If I was a betting man… and obviously I am, I’d say that was probably right about the time Will Levi’s stock really started to go up.
Here’s to another year of everybody being wrong with nobody being very surprised about it. Hooray, football!
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