It's Not Will Levis Fault That His Reps And NFL Machine Failed Him On NFL Draft Night, As He Leaves Kansas City

Will Levis could only smile so much, as he sat in the NFL Draft green room on Thursday night. One-by-one, players were being drafted while Levis tried to hide his discomfort.

The problem with the NFL machine and an agent who does his best to sell his client, no matter how wrong they are, it's publicly never the player's fault. If you watched Will Levis play over the past two seasons, it wasn't hard to notice the problems with his game. The interceptions, fumbles, wrong reads, they all played a factor.

The Tennessee Titans did not wait long, trading up to the 33rd spot to take Will Levis on Friday night. Now, the succession plan is in place after Ryan Tannehill moves on.

But the real problem lies in the fact that many in the NFL media that live for this day propped him up to be the next Josh Allen, predicting he would go in the top-five. Were any of these folks watching his games from 2021 and 2022? The warning signs were there. But thanks to some marketing and guys like Mel Kiper, he was put on a pedestal that he didn't belong on, for now.

How in the world do these guys that decided to label him as a top-five pick not get on that stage and apologize for hyping up this kid into something he's not at the moment? Maybe one day down the line Levis will be a starting quarterback in the NFL. He can use that massive chip on his shoulder to prove people wrong, but it won't be for first round money.

Also, Will Levis got out of Kansas City and will watch the NFL Draft from somewhere else, according to one report.

KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 27: Will Levis waits to be drafted in the green room backstage during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station on April 27, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Will Levis Knew There Was A Chance This Was Coming

"If I get invited and I know I'll be a pretty high pick, I'll definitely go. I don't want to go if I'm gonna be a second round pick ya know. Don't want all the cameras on ya all day," Will Levis said at the Kentucky Pro-Day.

He knew this could happen, but his agent Jimmy Sexton decided to roll the dice. Shouldn't the biggest agent in college football have a better sense of what's about to happen with his client? This is Jimmy Sexton, he knows everybody and has negotiated massive contracts for players and coaches during his time.

But here lies the problem. The NFL Draft machine did everything in their power to make this guy look like Superman, when in all reality he's not there yet. Also, I love the fact that during the NFL Draft it started to leak out from reporters that he's dealing with a toe issue. Hello! This would've been fantastic to know before they decided to prop him up and put the camera on him 39 times Thursday night.

It's an agent's job to put you in the best spot. On Thursday night, his agent Jimmy Sexton and the NFL machine made this young man look like a fool. Sure, they were able to keep viewers engaged by panning to him with his family, building up the drama of some team deciding to pull the trigger.

The Levis marketing team failed him on Thursday night. I know he's a grown man and can make his own decisions, but this is unchartered territory for him. This certain aspect of his NFL career is handled by professionals, who didn't help his cause Thursday night.

Agent Jimmy Sexton (Joshua Duplechian/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

It Goes Both Ways, Just Ask CJ Stroud

If you weren't paying attention over the last few weeks, CJ Stroud went through the ringer himself. This time it felt like a media blitz against him. Not only did Stroud prove folks wrong at the end, but he was selected with the second overall pick by the Texans.

For all the negative chatter about Stroud, that even included him not participating in the Manning Academy, it backfired for some. Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard was clearly agitated by all the negative stories that get released on these prospects.

"All the crap that comes out about these kids. It’s crap. Like, it’s bullshit. I’m sorry, but it’s bullshit. Like people that leak these stories, these negative stories on kids. I just don’t — I don’t agree with it. It’s bullshit," Ballard told reporters.

In the end, Will Levis will end up getting drafted, someone will most likely take the chance tonight. But this doesn't excuse the folks pushing the NFL Draft for viewers to not do their homework on the young man.

If they would've called up a small majority of the folks who watched him on a weekly basis over the past two years, we could've saved them the embarrassment.