I’m watching A Football Show a couple of weeks ago. I hear Braden saying that Mel Kiper Jr. thinks Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis could be the first quarterback off the board next spring, and I’m immediately clutching my chest. Admittedly, I haven’t done too deep of a dive into the Levis film yet, but the surface level overview is a big “hell no this guy isn’t ready to be a quarterback in the NFL.” Beyond catching Kentucky games live periodically this season, I’ve watched his game against Ole Miss this year and Mississippi State last year. The dude has a rifle. There’s no doubt about that – I thought he was a little slow in the pocket at times. NFL pass rushes will eat him up. He had a few overthrows on deep shots off of play action. And, he just doesn’t have a track record of always making the best decisions with the ball.
That said, you can absolutely fall in love with the traits…the size, the wiggle, the arm. He throws a beautiful, catchable ball. He has experience in an offense that utilizes screens and swing passes a la that vaunted Shanahan coaching tree. He’s good for a handful of breathtaking NFL throws in every game. He has that “wow you” kind of potential. It’s just far from consistent. Same sort of deal with Anthony Richardson, who I’ve admittedly watched less of, but will be ramping up on that work as the NFL Draft approaches. Richardson is lightning with the ball in his hands in the open field, but really struggles with consistency throwing the ball. Yet, he’s going to end up being a first round draft pick, too? How the fuck did we get here, folks?!
This obsession over taking the raw guys with elite potential because of their physical traits seems to have been started back in 2017, when the Kansas City Chiefs hit on Patrick Mahomes. Let’s go back to 2017 and take a look at Lance Zierlein’s scouting report on Mahomes: “Mahomes will be a work in progress, but he’s a high ceiling, low floor prospect.” He also compared him to Jay Cutler. Back then, I thought Mahomes was a fascinating selection in the first round – he had evident raw talent and potential, but the general consensus was that he was far too unpolished to cut it in the NFL right away. If he was going to amount to anything in the NFL, it would take some time! Folks – he was named the MVP of the league in 2018.
Suddenly, everyone’s looking for their next diamond in the rough. NFL staffs were thinking if they could just get their hands on a guy and develop him, they’d have the next big play-maker. We saw that again in 2018. While the “safer” quarterbacks went first (Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold), Josh Allen ended up with the Buffalo Bills, and Lamar Jackson snuck into the end of the first round, heading to the Baltimore Ravens. Allen and Jackson were both considered great athletes with running ability, but questions about their decision-making, accuracy, and how they’d process the NFL job had analysts saying they were just too risky to be considered surefire franchise guys. Jackson was the MVP in 2019, and Allen has been flirting with MVP honors for the last few seasons. You could make a compelling argument that Mahomes, Allen, and Jackson are actually the three best quarterbacks in the league now!
Looking back at how things went for Mayfield, Darnold, Mitchell Trubisky, and Josh Rosen, well…that’s only going to fuel this phenomenon. Scouts are going to start looking for the next athletic freak at the position, and they may start placing less of an emphasis on college production and the mental aspects of the game they feel they can coach guys up on. This is how you end up with analysts saying Levis and Richardson are likely first rounders. The art of scouting guys like these has evolved over the last five years.
Everyone is trying to hit on the next traits-y guy. We saw the Green Bay Packers draft Jordan Love in the first round in 2020. We saw the San Francisco 49ers draft Trey Lance in the first round in 2021. The jury’s still out on both of those guys, but it’s a signal that this hunt isn’t going away any time soon. I think Bryce Young is going to be the safest quarterback prospect to come out of next spring’s draft. But, it certainly seems as though the idea that Levis and Richardson could be that next class of meteoric risers is gaining some real traction. If they end up with some solid first round contracts, they better include Patrick Mahomes on their list of people to thank for it.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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