Will Levis in Top 10 of ESPN's first 2023 NFL Mock Draft

I feel like I’ve written the sentence “Will Levis is in the top ten of a 2023 NFL mock draft” a million times this week, but bring in DJ Khaled because we’ve got another one. ESPN’s senior NFL writer Todd McShay released his first 2023 mock this morning and Levis is indeed in the top ten, going eighth to the New York Giants (draft order is based on Super Bowl odds). Not only that, Levis is included in the headline of the story on ESPN’s main page.

8. New York Giants: Will Levis, QB, Kentucky

The Giants didn’t pick up Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option, which leaves the QB seat up for grabs next season. Levis needs to find more consistency, but he has a live arm and a big 6-foot-3, 232-pound frame. He has thrived in the quick game at Kentucky, with a lot of run-pass options and screen-type stuff, but there are some Josh Allen-like traits here for new Giants coach Brian Daboll. Oh, and Levis connected with receiver Wan’Dale Robinson — whom the Giants drafted in Round 2 this year — 104 times last season.

As McShay notes, Levis and Wan’Dale Robinson reuniting at the next level would be pretty sweet. Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. also mentioned Levis in his rundown of the top players in the 2023 draft.

“The story of this draft, the storyline, is going to be quarterbacks,” Kiper said after mentioning Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Alabama’s Bryce Young. “It was two years ago and it will be again this year. Tyler Van Dyke at Miami, Anthony Richardson at Florida, Will Levis at Kentucky. The list goes on and on and on.”

If you’re keeping track at home, here’s where Levis stands in all of the early mock drafts:

• The Athletic’s Dane Brugler: No. 5 (Atlanta Falcons)
• Fox Sports’ Jason McIntyre: No. 2 (Atlanta Falcons)
• CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson: No. 5 (New York Giants)
• Bleacher Report: No. 6 (Carolina Panthers)
• Pro Football Focus: No. 8 (Seattle Seahawks)
• The Draft Network: No. 6 (New York Giants)

Thankfully, QB1 seems to have the right perspective when it comes to the hype.

“It’s cool, but I mean, it doesn’t matter,” Levis said on Kentucky Roll Call yesterday. “It’s random media people with their own opinions. Obviously, anything you see with that doesn’t guarantee anything. If anything, it’s just kind of cool to hear and see. But I don’t want to spend time and attention on that. I just want to keep doing and working on what’s gotten me so far.”