Mysterious Reddit Post Dramatically Changes Will Levis Draft Odds to be No. 1 Pick
The Carolina Panthers traded up to get the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Immediately after the deal, Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud was the presumptive top pick, and after a few weeks, Alabama signal-caller Bryce Young became the favorite to go first. Now, with the draft just days away, the Will Levis draft odds have shrunk dramatically for the Kentucky QB, based on an anonymous Reddit post.
The Will Levis draft odds are falling fast
On April 18, 2023, someone created a Reddit account with the username SaleAgreeable2834. One week later, that user posted their first and (to date) only post on the online message board site.
On the r/sportsbook Reddit page, the user wrote, “Will Levis is currently +4000 to be the first overall pick. Well ladies and gentleman, he’s telling friends and family Carolina will in fact take him on Thursday. You’re welcome.”
The post received over 1,200 comments in the first seven hours after it went up, and sportsbooks around the country took notice.
In the early hours of Tuesday, April 25, two days before the 2023 NFL Draft, the Will Levis draft odds to be the No. 1 overall pick dropped from the 40/1 (+4000) or even 50/1 (+5000) neighborhood all the way down to +400 or even as low as +175, per PointsBet USA.
Outside of this Reddit post, there is no other hard information that suggests Will Levis will be the No. 1 overall pick.
That said, following the Will Levis draft odds drama, several media outlets confirmed, in an interestingly-timed report, that Panthers coach Frank Reich and general manager Scott Fitterer decided on Monday who they will be picking at No. 1.
Should Levis be the first QB taken in the 2023 NFL Draft?
Whether the new Will Levis draft odds are right or not, the real question here is, should the Panthers take the Kentucky QB with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft?
Days ahead of the draft, it looks like CJ Stroud is out with the No. 1 pick. While some still deem him the safest first-round QB, reports of him scoring in the 18th percentile of the S2 Cognition test have teams questioning his upside and ability to handle the NFL speed.
That leaves Bryce Young and Levis because everyone agrees that while Florida QB Anthony Richardson may have the highest ceiling, he is also the furthest from being ready to start in the pros.
Young has everything you’d want from a No. 1 overall draft pick in the way of skills and intangibles. The only problem is that a QB his size — 5-foot-10, 204 pounds at the NFL combine — has never succeeded in the NFL. There are some who believe that he is the Stephen Curry of the NFL, but his size will scare off many teams.
Will Levis looks like an NFL QB with a chiseled 6-foot-4, 229-pound frame, a rocket arm, and the athleticism required of a modern signal-caller. In many ways, he compares favorably to Josh Allen coming out of college and ran a pro-style offense at Kentucky as well.
On the downside, he’s dealt with injuries throughout his career, and in his final season, his numbers and his tape left a lot to be desired.
The biggest reason Levis struggled late in his career, though, was the lack of pro-level talent around him. This happened to Allen at Wyoming as well.
If I had a team with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, I’d take Levis. That said, I don’t know that I’d put money on it as a bettor at the current Will Levis draft odds after that mysterious Reddit post.
