Ryan Leaf had a shocking opinion about Will Levis’ slide out of the first round in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Leaf, the second overall pick after Peyton Manning in 1998 whose NFL career did not pan out, actually cited Levis as a big winner of the first day during a segment on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”

“Mine is a bit of a departure, OK, simply because I think Will Levis won the first round,” Leaf said. “… If he were a top-five pick, the word ‘bust,’ if it doesn’t work out, is something I can relate to. And it sticks with you.”

Leaf mentioned Drew Brees and Derek Carr as quarterbacks who were picked in the second round and went on to achieve success in the NFL.

“Adversity like that, maybe humiliation like that, you grow from it,” Leaf said. “You learn how to deal with it in a positive and healthy way, just like what it’s going to be like to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Because you’re going to fail, you are, on the biggest stage possible. And when you don’t have those unrealistic expectations, I think this is a huge thing for Will Levis, and I think you can look at it as an entire positive moving forward.”

“You can still be the greatest quarterback to ever play and not be drafted in the first round,” Leaf said. “Look at Kurt Warner. Look at Tom Brady. It’s all available to you. The expectations don’t exist.”

Levis was projected in many mock drafts to go in the top five.

Instead, three other quarterbacks went in that range — Bryce Young to the Panthers, C.J. Stroud to the Texans and Anthony Richardson to the Colts — but nobody in the first round drafted Levis.

There will be no pained shots of Levis during the second round, as he will reportedly not be in Kansas City when the draft resumes on Friday night.

NFL Network reported that teams are trying to trade up to the top of the second round with the idea of nabbing Levis.