Todd McShay calls out Mel Kiper Jr. for passing on Will Levis in combined mock 2023 NFL Draft

In the latest Tuesday installment of Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay verbally sparring over the draft stock of Will Levis, McShay allowed his Levis-loving colleague to undermine his own argument. Then he called Kiper on it.

As Kiper and McShay worked through the mock draft, they alternated picks and acted as general managers for the respective teams. Kiper had the No. 1 overall pick and, therefore, the odd picks.

He didn’t take Levis until No. 11, when the Tennessee Titans came on the board. At that point, Kiper made a comment about Levis sliding down the board. McShay pounced on the blunder.

“It’s amazing when sitting down, doing this whole thing with you and now on television with you, I want to peel the curtain back a little bit. You said, ‘He slides down to me. I’m thrilled to get my No. 2 quarterback here at this point in the draft.’ Who picked at five with Seattle? … And Las Vegas, No. 7, who picked for them? Kiper did,” McShay said. “So Kiper passed on Will Levis at five, Kiper passed on Will Levis at seven, and now it’s a miracle he falls to him. Because all of the other quarterback needy teams, he was in control of their picks.”

McShay continued his Broadway-worthy performance: “So, answer me, Mel: Why did you pass if you love will Levis so much? Why’d you pass with two other teams that could draft a quarterback?”

Kiper had his counter argument — or duck, depending on how one looks at it — at the ready.

His reasoning for not taking Levis when he was available at No. 5 and No. 7? Because Kiper wasn’t drafting as himself, but trying to mimic what the teams in those draft slots might do.

“It’s an easy decision Todd because you have to think like the organization. They have Geno Smith, right? And I’m talking about quarterbacks with people, ‘Nah you gotta get that defense better.’ You’ve got Jalen Carter, the best player on the board, there, you take him. You don’t get the luxury of the quarterback because the best player slid to five. You mentioned the Raiders, Jimmy Garoppolo is the quarterback with Josh McDaniels. That’s their guy. Jimmy G is not 42 years old. Yes, he’s struggled to stay healthy at times, but he’s also been to a Super Bowl and he’s still relatively young. You’ve got your quarterback, but you’ve got no defense. So you get the corner,” Kiper said. “They can’t afford to take the quarterback.”

“I’ve got to think like the organization based on the moves they made. Would I have done some of these things? No. But I have to go with what they did and think like they are when I’m the GM of that team in this exercise, Todd. So that’s why I reluctantly passed on Levis and here he is, slide, slide, sliding away all the way down to my Tennessee Titans.”

The broadsides on Tuesday were at least the sixth time this draft cycle that the duo have gone back and forth about Levis, with Kiper holding the quarterback in much higher esteem.

On March 7, they debated his NFL readiness. On March 21, they disagreed on the Indianapolis Colts trading up to draft Levis. On March 28, they got into a general — and heated — debate about Levis as a prospect. On April 4, they revisited the March 21 discussion on the appropriate draft slot for Levis. And on April 11, they got going when McShay called out Kiper for overhyping Levis.

“This will find a way into the montage because there is an entire Will Levis montage between these two men,” ESPN host Field Yates said after the latest sparring bout.