Will Levis 2023 NFL Draft odds: Kentucky quarterback making late push as potential No. 1 overall pick to Carolina Panthers

With about 58 hours to go until the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night in Kansas City, the NFL rumor mill is going hot and heavy and surely won't stop until the Carolina Panthers are officially on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick. They are widely expected to take Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with that selection, and he's the -1600 favorite at DraftKings, but in the past hour Kentucky QB Will Levis has dropped from +4000 to +400 to go first.

The NFL probably would love a little drama Thursday night, and this odds movement on Levis could be tied to a Reddit post that claims Levis is alerting friends and family that the Panthers have told him he'll be the top pick. It goes without saying that not everything on Reddit should be believed.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Levis has an NFL body and arm and is a lock to be the first Kentucky quarterback taken in the first round since Tim Couch went No. 1 overall in 1999 to Cleveland. The last top 10 pick from the school was pass-rusher Josh Allen, who was selected by Jacksonville at No. 7 in 2019.

Levis, a Penn State transfer, had 17-7 record as starter with Kentucky from 2021-22 with the sixth-most passing yards (5,218) & passing touchdowns (43) in the SEC over those two seasons. He would be the first quarterback selected in Round 1 without a 3,000-yard passing season or a 500-yard rushing season in college since Florida State's Christian Ponder was the No. 11 overall pick to Minnesota in 2011. The Ponder selection did not work out, to say the least.

In CBS Sports' Pete Prisco's what teams "should" do 2023 NFL Mock Draft, Carolina does take Levis first. However, he's only No. 18 overall on the CBS Sports Big Board.

DraftKings favors Levis at +125 to be the second overall pick, whether that's by the Houston Texans or another team. Levis is also the +130 favorite to go fourth, currently held by the Indianapolis Colts. The site offers a head-to-head prop against Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson on which is chosen first with Levis at -350 and Richardson at +275.

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