Will We See Will Levis Air It Out Like a No. 1 Pick?

Let’s for a second go with the idea that Will Levis will be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Certainly on the table at this point. Whether or not you want to believe it, NFL scouts believe he has the arm, talent, leadership, and potential to lead an NFL franchise for the next 10 years. But is Kentucky getting the same kind of production that other NFL No. 1 draft picks have given their school? Understand that I am not asking if Will Levis is as good as the players you see below. What I am asking is if Will Levis is being given the chance to produce at the level as other #1 draft picks.

Below are the last five quarterbacks to be selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. Below each guy are his stats in his final season in college and what that averaged out to per game in that season. And just to throw an additional stat in there, how many times did that quarterback throw the ball 35 or more times in a game:

2020: Trevor Lawrence (COVID YEAR, 10 games)
231-334, 3,153 yards, 24 TD, 5 INT
Average per game: 23-33, 315 yards, 2.4 TD, 0.5 INT
35+ Pass Attempts: 6 games

2019: Joe Burrow (15 games)
402-527, 5,671 yards, 60 TD, 6 INT
Average per game: 27-35, 378 yards, 4.0 TD, 0.4 INT
35+ Pass Attempts: 8 games

2018: Kyler Murray (14 games)
260-377, 4,361 yards, 42 TD, 7 INT
Average per game: 19-27, 311 yards, 3.0 TD, 0.5 INT
35+ Pass Attempts: 2 games

2017: Baker Mayfield (14 games)
285-404, 4,627 yards, 43 TD, 6 INT
Average per game: 20-29, 330 yards, 3.1 TD, 0.4 INT
35+ Pass Attempts: 4 games

2015: Jared Goff (13 games)
341-529, 4,714 yards, 43 TD, 13 INT
Average per game: 26-41, 363 yards, 3.3 TD, 1.0 INT
35+ Pass Attempts: 10 games

2022: WILL LEVIS (6 games)
114-164, 1,635 yards, 13 TD, 5 INT
Average per game: 19-27, 272 yards, 2.2 TD, 0.8 INT
35+ Pass Attempts: 1 game

Say what you will about Will Levis and his talent. I personally think I would love for him to be the QB of my NFL team, the Cleveland Browns. But compared to other No. 1 NFL Draft picks, he is not being asked or allowed to throw the ball nearly as much as the other guys. The guy closest to Levis statistically is Kyler Murray, who was a true dual-threat QB. And he still threw the ball as much as Levis is currently.

Let’s be honest here. Kentucky is 5-2 and sitting in the Top 20 in the rankings. Rocking the boat by drastically changing the offensive philosophy is probably not a good idea. But I have to wonder what might actually happen if Will Levis threw the ball 40 times in a game. The one game he did throw it at least 35 times? Youngstown State. His next highest is 32 attempts…against Miami of Ohio. The point being, the better the game, the less Levis is throwing.

Now, many will quickly argue that Kentucky has Chris Rodriguez. First off, they didn’t in the first 4 games of this season but he certainly plays a role here in how much Levis can throw. Let me point out a rebuttal to that:

2020 (Lawrence): Travis Ettienne (1st round draft pick)
2019 (Burrow): Clyde Edwards-Helaire (1st round draft pick)
2017-18 (Mayfield, Murray): Rodney Anderson (6th round draft pick)

These other quarterbacks didn’t exactly have bums in the backfield with them. They had NFL players back there too. Chris Rodriguez should get the ball enough to showcase his talent but he’s not going to be the first running back taken next year. Levis might be the first quarterback taken. Yet Kentucky has run more running plays than passing plays in 6 of 7 games this season (Miami of Ohio the exception) and in most games, it isn’t particularly close. Again, they are 5-2 and I admit that. My question is what would happen, positive or negative if we flipped that script and UK threw the ball more than it ran it?

Will Levis may end up the first pick in the NFL Draft either way. But I have this pit in my stomach that we will end this season wondering if we truly got to see the full productivity potential of our No. 1 draft pick at quarterback during his final season in Lexington.