Will Levis not selected in first round of NFL draft amid report of toe injury

Will Levis not selected in first round of NFL draft amid report of toe injury

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis went unselected in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday, a bizarre fall for a player projected as a Top 10 pick throughout most of the process.

It was unclear what caused Levis to drop, though ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that the quarterback had a “problematic” toe injury. Levis missed two games during the 2022 season with turf toe, but reportedly insisted the injury had healed prior to the draft.

The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Levis passed for 2,406 yards and 19 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in 11 games in 2022. He started two seasons at Kentucky after transferring from Penn State.

Levis was widely projected as a first-round pick, with some mock drafts published as recently as this week slotting him in the Top 5. There were three quarterbacks taken Thursday, Alabama’s Bryce Young No. 1 overall to Carolina, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud No. 2 to Houston and Florida’s Anthony Richardson No. 4 to Indianapolis.

Levis was one of 17 players invited to attend the draft in Kansas City, but was not the only one who went unselected in the first round. Also not picked Thursday were Alabama safety Brian Branch, Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and Georgia Tech defensive lineman Keion White.