The NFL has always been the ultimate team sport. However, the value of the quarterback remains the biggest premium among all positions, with teams willing to invest significant resources and time in their development.
As a result, they get a longer runway as well to figure out their standing and consistency. With recent career turnarounds for the likes of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, one analyst believes another candidate who could make such a jump is Will Levis.
Will Levis Could Become the Next Quarterback Reclamation Project
Drafted with the 33rd pick in 2023, it became clear pretty quickly that Levis wasn’t the answer for the Tennessee Titans. Even though the organization gave him a ton of opportunities, allowing him 21 games over his first two seasons, the results never came through.
In those two years combined, Levis threw for 3,899 yards and ran for just 240 yards, while adding 22 total touchdowns against 16 interceptions. In those seasons, he ranked at number 26 (2023) and 37 (2024) among quarterbacks in the league, according to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric.
As a result, it seems inevitable that the Titans would move on from Levis when they got the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Unsurprisingly, the franchise moved forward with Cam Ward, leaving Levis expendable on the roster.
For Jacob Infante of PFSN, who put together a list of trade candidates from every team, Levis is someone who could draw a ton of attention in the market. “The writing was on the wall for Will Levis’ time to be over with the Tennessee Titans when they drafted Cam Ward No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft,” he wrote.
For Infante, though, the reasons are piling on. “Since then, however, they’ve also brought in Mitchell Trubisky and Hendon Hooker, the former of whom is likely to jump Levis on the depth chart. Still just 26 with a strong arm, Levis could be a low-risk, high-reward trade target for a team in need of a new backup quarterback.”
In recent years, teams have seen some previously disregarded quarterbacks rise through the ranks. From Mayfield becoming a perennial Pro Bowler and consistent threat in the NFC, to Darnold becoming the first Super Bowl-winning quarterback from the 2018 draft class, the league is littered with such examples right now.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
As a result, some franchises might be open to the possibility of bringing in Levis, who shouldn’t cost a ton of draft capital, and taking a swing on him. As Infante explained, it would be the ultimate low-risk, high-reward move, but worth it for some quarterback-needy organizations.
