Surprise pick at number one in this 2023 NFL mock draft

7. Las Vegas Raiders: Will Levis, QB, Kentucky

The Las Vegas Raiders are no doubt in need of a quarterback and head coach Josh McDaniels clearly wanted to get his own guy.  Derek Carr is out, Jimmy Garoppolo is in.  Jimmy G is a capable quarterback but in my opinion a step down or lateral move at best from Carr.

Either way, Will McDaniels allow Levis to compete right away for the starting role or maybe he has already tagged Jimmy Garoppolo as the 2023 starter and let Levis sit for a season?  I don’t expect the Raiders to do too much in 2023 as far as wins go, so I would personally start the rookie right away.

Levis has good size at 6’4″ and weighs 229 pounds.  He also produced a decent 40-time of 4.72.  Levis also brings smarts to the table as well, having graduated high school with several offers from Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Princeton.  Instead, Levis opted for Penn State; however, after three seasons and only two starts, he decided to transfer to Kentucky.

Transferring to Kentucky was the smartest decision he could have made.  Once he arrived, he was handed the keys to the offense and threw for 2,827 yards on 352 attempts, while tossing 24 touchdowns.  He also added another 516 yards on the ground.

In his senior year, he added 2,416 passing yards on just 286 attempts, with 19 touchdowns.  His rushing yards were down considerably though, with only 116 yards on 45 runs.