Cocky Will Levis shows off strong arm at NFL Combine: ‘I’ve got a cannon’
INDIANAPOLIS — Will Levis draws his liquid courage from a cup of coffee with a scoop of mayonnaise.
Projected to be a top-10 draft pick this year even as the third quarterback listed in most rankings, Levis didn’t hold back at the NFL Scouting Combine when asked about his potential.
“My goal is to win more than anybody,” said Levis, who spent the past two years at Kentucky after two at Penn State. “I want to be the greatest of all time. I feel like you are crazy if you don’t think that way.”
Levis’ sanity is more likely to be questioned for funky meals, which include eating the peel with a banana.
As he explained, though, viral videos of mayonnaise coffee is more of a stunt. No team’s personnel brought it up in private interviews where anything goes, but he had an answer ready.
“It’s just me having fun,” Levis said. “It’s not something I do [regularly]. I hope people understand that by now. Me and my girl at breakfast got our black coffees — no cream, no sugar on the table, just a bottle of mayo. She makes a joke that, ‘I think you are supposed to put that in there,’ and I’m like, ‘You don’t have to tell me twice.’”
As potential No. 1 pick Bryce Young looked on after opting out of on-field drills, the 6-foot-3 Levis had the scouting audience and his peers in the stadium buzzing Saturday with the velocity on his passes — an average of 59 miles per hour, third-highest among Combine quarterbacks since 2016, per NFL Network — and easy 55-yard go-route throws.
“I’ve got a cannon, and I want to show it off,” Levis said. “I think I’ve got one of the stronger arms that’s come out of any draft class in recent memory.”
Levis also showed off in meetings.
His “ability to handle a lot of information,” is a skill that could endear him to the Raiders at pick No. 7 for head coach Josh McDaniels’ complex offense, according to NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
The Penn State transfer played in two play-action-based NFL systems at Kentucky, where his offensive coordinator was Sean McVay disciple Liam Coen as a junior and Kyle Shanahan disciple Rich Scangarello as a senior.
“Our terminology crosses over with a lot of different teams in the league,” Levis said. “As they are asking about what we run and we are watching tape, and I’m running through what our footwork was or what our language was, it’s cool when they realize it’s the same or very similar to do what they do.”
But Levis’ statistics went backwards with a less-talented supporting cast last season.
Fighting through foot and shoulder injuries, he threw for 2,406 and 19 touchdowns but threw 10 interceptions and was sacked 36 times in 11 games.
The combination of injuries and schematic changes led to a decrease in rushing production from the 376 yards and nine touchdowns accumulated on draws, powers and scrambles under Coen that is a valued extra tool for quarterbacks.
Levis said he only again felt “good about my body” within the last month.
“The best overall quarterback for the future is Will Levis,” one scout with a history of accurate quarterback assessments told The Post. “Everyone is focusing on this year’s tape and ignoring last year’s tape. They played the offense differently. Last year’s tape shows everything you want in a quarterback.”
Natural comparisons exist to the Bills’ Josh Allen, but Levis’ eye is on the Bengals’ Joe Burrow.
“This offseason, compared to offseasons in the past, I’ve really been trying to kind of perfect the movement leading up to the throw,” Levis said. “I think that when I make some inaccurate passes it’s due to how I’m kind of initiating movement leading into it.
“A lot of times I can kind of get away with it because of how talented of an arm I have. But Joe, I think, does it better than anyone else in terms of movement in the pocket. Not the fastest guy, but he’s able to move so efficiently to put himself in a stable base to make efficient throws. And I’ve been watching a lot of film on him.”
Burrow completely changed the identity of a downtrodden franchise. Can Levis do the same?
“Right now, I think I can bring them a championship team,” he said. “I think I’m able to assimilate myself better than anybody else. That’s the confidence I have due to my experience and my physical tools. I think I’ll be able to plug into any offense, learn it well and become a leader very quickly, but obviously the goal is to progress. I want to be better every year.
“I want to be selected as high as possible, but at the end of the day I just want a team that believes in me,” he said. “I’ve got to make somebody fall in love with me.”
