Will Levis' odds to become No. 1 overall pick in NFL Draft make dramatic move

Just a few days before the deadline to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft, the odds for the top overall pick took an interesting turn. Former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis saw his odds make a major shift, according to multiple sportsbooks.

Levis went from 22-1 odds to go No. 1 overall to 9-1, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. DraftKings Sportsbook also showed a dramatic move as Levis shifted from 20-1 to 10-1 to be the top pick, according to The Draft Network’s Jaime Elsner.

Levis is among three quarterbacks projected to go early in the first round of April’s draft, along with former Alabama star Bryce Young and Ohio State star C.J. Stroud. However, as of Friday night — three days before the Jan. 16 deadline — Stroud hadn’t declared for the draft.

Levis put together an impressive season for Kentucky in 2022, throwing for 2,406 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Wildcats had an up-and-down year on offense. He recently came in as the No. 13 player on ESPN analyst Todd McShay’s board and will likely hear his name called in the first round of the draft April 27. In fellow ESPN analyst Jordan Reid’s latest mock draft, Levis was projected to go to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 7 overall.

Levis has been one of the more intriguing draft prospects early in the cycle, and McShay called him one of the most “polarizing” players who’ll be on the board.

“He’s polarizing,” McShay said last month. “I talked to one GM who said he sees so much of Josh Allen in him. Five days later, I talked to another GM, and he said ‘I’m just worried he’s going to be the next Carson Wentz.’ … The knock is he doesn’t have great pocket presence. So it’s great that he has mobility, but is he seeing the whole field or are his eyes dropping? You see a lot of that on tape.”