KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Draft day cameras can be cruel. As the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft crept through Thursday night, those green room shots eventually had nothing else to do but to focus on Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.
For the first time, two SEC quarterbacks -- Alabama's Bryce Young (No. 1 overall, Carolina Panthers) and Anthony Richardson (No. 4 overall, Indianapolis Colts) -- were selected among the first four picks in a draft. Ohio State's C.J. Stroud (No. 2 overall, Houston Texans) made it three QBs in the top four.
But Levis? On Wednesday, he had been surrounded by reporters at a draft media availability being asked about a Reddit post stating he was going No. 1 overall to the Panthers. The hype surrounding the Penn State transfer had grown to that point.
Yeah, consider the source, but it makes Levis' drop out of the first round easy to frame. From social news forum darling to the loneliest guy in the green room. From highly touted prospect to the next Aaron Rodgers (at least on draft night). If you recall, Rodgers plummeted in the first round 18 years ago, falling from potential No. 1 overall pick until No. 24 when the Packers finally scooped him up.
Everything ultimately worked out for Rodgers. Levis? We'll have to see.
It's lonely when there's 17 players invited to the NFL Draft green room, three of those quarterbacks are taken inside the first four picks and you're the lone signal caller waiting out the duration on the couch.
Levis joined Kentucky as a guy who couldn't beat out Sean Clifford at Penn State. Levis thrived with the Wildcats, throwing for more than 5,000 yards and 43 touchdowns in two seasons.
(Some) scouts fell in love with his size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) and his ability to run.
"Physically he's just so gifted," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops told CBS Sports earlier Thursday. "The way he throws the ball, the way he runs, he's got that command you're looking for. He's got all the answers. Like all these guys that are here at the top, [he's] ultra-competitive. There isn't anybody who is going to outwork him."
Compared to the quarterbacks actually drafted in Round 1, Levis clearly wasn't that guy on Thursday night.
Call it an indictment of the whole draft culture. You can teach a high-functioning horse to assemble a mock draft. You say something often enough, many will think it is true.
Levis was an overachiever who was better than anyone thought ... until he wasn't.
We already know Young is Alabama's best-ever quarterback. He might be in the conversation as its best-ever player. His athleticism and instincts are almost Patrick Mahomes-esque.
Consider his value to the Crimson Tide when, on the same day Young was picked No. 1 overall, Notre Dame's Tyler Buchner chose to transfer to Bama and battle for the starting job against Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson.
"This is what Alabama is about -- competition," Young said.
The Tide better hope so. For the first time in a long time, Alabama doesn't have a clear-cut difference maker at the position or perhaps not even a serviceable game manager.
Stroud was insanely efficient at Ohio State playing behind fellow first-rounder Paris Johnson Jr. on the offensive line while throwing to perhaps the best set of wide receivers in the country. There were multiple questions about Richardson. Among them accuracy, which is never good. Still, not enough to keep the Colts from taking him fourth.
"In the SEC, there were a whole of bunch of bullies in that league," Richardson said. "Playing against Bama, Georgia and Tennessee forces you to kind of be professional early."
Levis could have said the same thing. He didn't have the chance. About halfway through the first round, it was obvious he would slide into Day 2. There simply weren't any openings with teams like the Seattle Seahawks (Geno Smith), San Diego Chargers (Justin Herbert), Baltimore Ravens (Lamar Jackson), Dallas Cowboys (Dak Prescott) and Jacksonville Jaguars (Trevor Lawrence) still on the first-round clock.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Levis' injured left toe was "problematic" for some teams with some believing surgery might eventually be necessary. Levis disagreed, contending that he's good to go.
Maybe that's all it took for him to slide. Stroud had to suffer through reports of alleged bad scores on S2 tests. Young had to answer questions about his height (5-foot-10) and weight (200 pounds). Heck, in his post-draft press conference, it seemed like Richardson didn't recognize the name of his new coach (Frank Reich).
Some shortcomings can be overcome. Some last at least another day.
