It was surprising not to see Kentucky quarterback Will Levis off the 2023 NFL Draft board in Round 1 Thursday, but it didn’t take long for him to hear his name on Friday evening.
The Tennessee Titans traded up in a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to land Levis. In doing so, they gave up their No. 41 and No. 72 picks and a 2024 third-round pick in exchange for No. 33 — the Levis pick — and the No. 81 pick.
The Titans reportedly tried trading up in the first round but weren’t able to find the right partner to do so.
Levis and his family decided to not show up back to the green room since he likely knew cameras would be on him yet again.
Levis remained seated in the green room behind the NFL Draft stage watching most of his peers walk up to receive their jerseys Thursday. In attendance with him was his girlfriend, Gia Duddy.
She celebrated the joyous occasion on her Instagram story.
“Lets ride @will_levis @titans,” Duddy expressed in an Instagram Story.
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The quarterbacks taken in the top five picks were Bryce Young to the Carolina Panthers at No. 1, C.J. Stroud to the Houston Texans at No. 2, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts at No. 4.
In 11 games last season, Levis threw for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while completing 65.4% of his passes.
Levis’ career began at Penn State. He would transfer to Kentucky in 2021 and got an opportunity to be the team’s full-time starter. He threw for 2,826 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions while completing 66% of his passes over 13 games.
With Ryan Tannehill only under contract for one more season and Malik Willis failing to show success in eight games, Levis will a real shot to be the man in Tennessee.
