Will Levis put on a brave face, but admitted he will enter the NFL with “a little bit” of a chip on his shoulder after surprisingly sliding out of the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Tennessee Titans finally selected Levis with the second pick of the second round, making the Kentucky quarterback the 33rd overall pick.
Levis spoke to Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III on ABC’s Friday night coverage of the draft’s second round from his family home in Madison, Conn., after leaving Kansas City following a night of painful look-ins as one team after another selected other players.
“It’s been insane,” Levis said. “I mean, obviously yesterday didn’t go exactly how I expected, but I needed to get home. We had a family gathering tomorrow, so I’m thankful for Kansas City and how they treated us while I was there, but I had to get home, had some travel complications, but got home just in time and was ecstatic to get the call.”
Levis was asked by Griffin III how he will approach a quarterback competition with Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis in Tennessee.
“I’m just ready to learn,” Levis answered. “I want to be the best teammate that I can be. I’m going in there to compete, for sure, but they have a lot more experience than I have in the NFL, and I just want to learn from them and help the team win.”
Ponder then asked the quarterback what he learned in the chaotic NFL Draft process.
“Be yourself, and you want to make a connection with a team so they believe in you for who you are as a player and as a person, and I definitely feel like I found that with the Tennessee Titans and I’m just very grateful to be a part of such an excellent organization,” Levis said.
Nevertheless, Griffin III asked, does he have an “extra” chip on his shoulder?
“I mean, a little bit, but I think that regardless of if I went first overall or in the second round, my work ethic wouldn’t have been changed,” Levis said.
“Circumstances can’t change how you approach situations like that. But I’m happy for all the dudes that went in the first round, that was definitely something that I would’ve liked to happen, but I feel like I ended up where I was meant to be and I’m just looking forward to getting to work.