NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks has former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis falling out of the first-round of the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft as part of his latest mock draft released on Tuesday (March 28).

Brooks had previously predicted Levis would be selected by the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 7 overall, but the team's recent signing of veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo may lead to them instead taking former Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

"In my last mock draft, I had the Raiders select Kentucky QB Will Levis here, but that was before they signed Jimmy Garoppolo, whose presence as a veteran signal-caller enables Las Vegas to focus on taking the best player available to upgrade the defense," Brooks wrote via NFL.com.

Brooks predicted that three other quarterbacks would be selected in the first-round with former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud selected No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers; former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young selected No. 2 overall by the Houston Texans; and former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson selected No. 20 overall by the Seattle Seahawks.

Brooks also had Levis drop one spot to No. 5 in his latest quarterback prospect rankings list released last week. Levis has been arguably the most polarizing prospect in the upcoming draft with some projecting him to be a top-10 pick and others expressing doubts regarding his transition to the NFL.

NFL Network colleagues Daniel Jeremiah and Charles Davis both had Levis being picked in the first-round in their latest mock drafts with Jeremiah predicting he'd be selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19 overall and Davis pegging him to be picked by the Minnesota Vikings at No. 23 overall. The 23-year-old threw for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 185 of 283 passing during his final collegiate season.

Levis transferred to Kentucky in 2021 after graduating from Penn State, having only appeared in three games during his two non-redshirt seasons with the Nittany Lions.

Ron Wilson

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