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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Charlie Wilson

Will Levis' worst fears for NFL Draft have come true after confident comments

Will Levis' worst fears sadly came to fruition during the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

The Kentucky quarterback had been seen as a consensus top five pick after showing his incredible traits throughout his time in college. During the 2021 season, Levis performed as one of the best quarterbacks throughout the NCAA, doing so in a pro-style offense being coached under Los Angeles Rams playcaller Liam Coen.

The following season, the team lost a number of its' best players after being drafted to the NFL, which hugely affected Levis' play in 2022. This, analysts had said, would hurt his draft stock after he was not able to recreate his form from his previous season. However, no-one expected what would happen during the first round.

According to ESPN's analytics, Levis had a 99% chance to be drafted within the top 10 picks, with the Indianapolis Colts being 1/14 on to take him with the fourth overall selection.

Instead, the Colts took fellow quarterback Anthony Richardson from Florida - starting Levis' slide down the board, with the Seattle Seahawks also passing on him at #5. From that point on, it was tough to see a team who would select him - with the vast majority of teams having their long-term plan at quarterback already pencilled in.

But to drop out of the first round entirely was a huge shock, as Levis was forced to wait in the green room - with the camera panning to his dejected body language a reported 27 times.

Will Levis waits to be drafted in the green room backstage... as he did for four hours (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

That was something, specifically, that Levis openly admitted that he had hoped to avoid. Months ago, he was asked if he would be attending the NFL Draft in the green room at Kansas City.

Speaking at his Kentucky pro day, Levis responded: "If I get invited and I know that I'll be a pretty high pick I will definitely go. I will look forward to going.

"But I don't want to go if I could be a second round pick, you know? You don't want to have the camera on you all day."

Sadly for Levis, that is exactly what happened. He was made to wait over four hours in the green room with his family and girlfriend sat beside him as teams selected pick after pick without calling on the quarterback.

Shots of Levis waiting to be drafted were reminiscent of similar scenes from 18 years ago. In 2005, Aaron Rodgers was heavily expected to be the first overall pick, but instead, the San Francisco 49ers went with Alex Smith.

That saw Rodgers slide all the way to the 24th pick - with every team passing on him, Rodgers looking more and more agitated. As for Levis, he is expected to be one of the first picks in the second round, which gets underway at midnight.

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