Kenny Pickett is the Steelers‘ new starting quarterback, but a former NFL quarterback and general manager feel Pittsburgh would be better off with former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.
Former Notre Dame standout and NFL quarterback Brady Quinn and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman were recently asked which quarterback would better benefit the 2023 Steelers.
“I’m taking Will Levis because of the upside,” Spielman said on “With the First Pick” podcast.
“Same, I’d probably take Levis,” Quinn said. “Kenny Pickett is a good athlete, I think Will Levis is probably a little bit even better of an athlete. Definitely, Levis has a stronger arm. Even though Pickett played well down the stretch … I think with Levis, there’s a little more upside there.”
Brady said that Levis reminds him of Matthew Stafford when Stafford was coming out of Georgia 14 years ago.
“The ball jumps out of his hands,” Brady said of Levis. “Just comes out effortlessly, very similar to Stafford. They don’t have to put much on it. They both have howitzers for arms.”
In 24 games with the Wildcats, Levis completed nearly 66 percent of his passes with 43 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. During his first year at Kentucky, Levis helped the Wildcats win 10 games that included a 20-18 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
At 6-3 and 222 pounds, Levis has the prototypical build of an NFL quarterback. He also has a cannon for a right arm that is surely one of the reasons why he is expected to be drafted so high (here’s how we graded his combine performance). Levis’ other attributes include the fact that he ran versions of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan’s offenses at Kentucky. A confident player who isn’t afraid to take calculated risks downfield, Levis is also capable of taking off for big gains on the ground if given an opening.
Like every prospect, Levis has some question marks. While confidence is typically a good trait for a quarterback to have, it at times has led to Levis committing costly turnovers (he had 25 interceptions and 17 fumbles during his college career). Mechanics and ball placement are other areas of Levis’ game that could use further improvement.
Brady said that Levis’ upside is also comparable to Stafford’s coming out of college. While neither player had amazing college stats, Quinn feels that Levis’ upside more than makes up for his lack of numbers.
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