Silver Minings: Will Levis ready for NFL game per Mel Kiper

Now that the Super Bowl is over, it’s officially the offseason in the NFL and the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to either trade or release starting quarterback Derek Carr in the next few days. Carr’s roughly $40 million contract clause activates on Wednesday meaning the quarterback talks for the Raiders are about to intensify.

While Las Vegas will explore the free agent market for a new signal-caller first, the team will also evaluate its options in the NFL Draft, which seems to be a three-horse race between Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis.

Levis is certainly the most controversial of the three, seeing as the 2021 Heisman Trophy Winner and two-time Heisman finalist were the more accomplished players in college. However, some, including long-time NFL Draft analyst for ESPN Mel Kiper, still have the Wildcat as the top QB in this class.

Kiper even has Levis as the third-best prospect overall, behind only Alabama edge defender Will Anderson Jr. and Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, both of whom are pretty unanimously considered the top two players on the board. Below is some insight into why the godfather of NFL Draft media is so high on Kentucky’s signal caller.

“Levis played in a pro-style offense at Kentucky, and he’s not going to need much time to adjust to the NFL. He can maneuver the pocket and throw on the run. Many of his turnovers came when he tried to use his arm to force throws, and he’s going to be punished for mistakes at the next level. Levis is the real deal, though, and there are lots of fans of him in the NFL.”

Kiper is pretty plugged into what the league thinks about prospects and he’s not the only one to say that a lot of people in the NFL are high on Levis. Back in January, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports told 247Sports that several teams are high on Levis and “much higher than fans and media folks are.”

Hypothetically, if Will Levis gets drafted by the Raiders, how would you all feel about that?

In other Raiders’ links:

• Darren Waller gives props to Travis Kelce: “[Kelce is] that good,” Waller said. “I feel like he’ll finish as the greatest tight end of all time. And I don’t think that’s farfetched. It’s awesome to see what he does.”
• Saints want Carr to take a pay cut: ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the buzz around Super Bowl week is that New Orleans wants to lower the guarantees on the quarterback’s contract if they trade for him.
• Mock Draft sends Ohio St OT to Vegas: “Many fans of the Raiders will pine for the team to take Will Levis here if he is still available, but if Aaron Rodgers arrives in Las Vegas, ...they shore up the right tackle spot for the long haul, adding Paris Johnson Jr.,” writes Just Blog Baby’s Brad Weiss.
• Anthony Richardson instead?: Dalton Miller of Pro Football Network makes the case for the Silver and Black to take the Florida QB.