Raiders: Why Will Levis is perfect fit for roster in NFL Draft

© Provided by ClutchPoints 3/8/23

The Las Vegas Raiders cut ties with their quarterback of the last nine years, Derek Carr. Now the team must move on by drafting a new signal-caller in the 2023 NFL Draft. After the NFL Scouting Combine, Kentucky QB Will Levis may have slipped a bit with Anthony Richardson’s performance, but that is good news for Vegas. Here is why a Will Levis Raiders pick is a perfect fit.

Will Levis is a perfect fit for the Raiders roster in NFL Draft

Since 2014, Derek Carr has been a problem for the Raiders. He was a good enough signal-caller that getting rid of him would have been a big step back for the franchise. But he wasn’t good enough to win consistently and carry the team to the postseason.

Now the Derek Carr Era is officially over, though.

And with last season’s putrid 6-11 record, the good news for Raiders fans is that the team has a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. With that pick, it is time to take another quarterback.

This will be the first QB the Raiders have selected in Round 1 since the organization’s infamous JaMarcus Russell in 2007 and the first QB they’ve drafted at all since Connor Cook in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Nearly everyone in the organization is different from 2007. Even owner Mark Davis was in a different position, as his legendary father still owned the team. That said, the Russell pick is informative for what the Raiders’ options will likely be at pick No. 7 in the 2023 NFL Draft.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Florida QB Anthony Richardson was the star. He put up testing numbers that the NFL hasn’t seen in two decades. However, when you look at the Gators’ tape, you see a player who isn’t ready to play the position in the pros and may never be.

Richardson had a 53.8% completion rate last season and threw for just 2,549 yards with 17 TDs and nine interceptions. That’s not what you want to see from a high-end QB prospect, no matter how athletic they are.

Will Levis didn’t test like Richardson and didn’t run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, but at 6-foot-4, 229 pounds he finished fifth among QBs in the vertical jump and second in the broad jump. These numbers show that he has elite QB athleticism, although not to the level of Richardson.

Production-wise, the Penn State transfer had 5,232 passing yards, 43 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions, with a 65.7% completion rate in 23 games for Kentucky. And that was in a pro-style offense and with much less talent than Richardson had with Florida.

No matter which quarterback the Raiders take at No. 7, the team will have to sign a veteran to start 2023. The team is built to win now with Davante Adams, Darren Waller, Hunter Renfrow, and (maybe free-agent) Josh Jacobs on the books.

The Raiders are already out on Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson, so signing a free agent like Jimmy Garoppolo or even sticking with Jarrett Stidham is the most likely option. If that is the situation, the best-case scenario is that the team drafts a developmental QB at No. 7, and that QB becomes good enough to start with the stars above by Year 2 or even a few games into the 2023 season.

That is why a Will Levis Raiders pick is a better option than Anthony Richardson.

Much of the buzz around the Raiders picking a QB is because head coach Josh McDaniels is supposedly an offensive guru who can develop a young quarterback, although he’s never actually done that. He’s worked with Tom Brady and Derek Carr, and his one attempt to draft and develop a QB was Tim Tebow with the Denver Broncos, and we all know how that went.

A Will Levis Raiders union would give McDaniels a signal-caller with a higher floor who is much closer to being ready for the NFL game than Anthony Richardson. And with the Raiders’ history of JaMarcus Russell and the coach’s history with Tebow, that higher floor should be an enviable trait.

Many teams have fallen victim to the NFL Scouting Combine over the years, and it looks like that could happen again in 2023. Richardson is the home run swing, while Levis seems like a good, solid double at worst. And a quarterback like that, with Josh Allen-level upside and the weapons the Raiders have, could be a playoff QB sooner rather than later.

Plus, for the Raiders franchise and Josh McDaniels, just getting on base with this pick is a win, which is why Will Levis is the better selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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