The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly have already received calls for the No. 32 overall pick (the first pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft) as teams believed to be targeting Will Levis seemingly look to move up.
The Steelers received the No. 32 pick because of a trade they made during the 2022 season with the Chicago Bears. Pittsburgh sent wide receiver Chase Claypool to Chicago in the deal.
The #Steelers’ phone was already ringing for the No. 32 pick before Round 1 ended, per sources.
Multiple teams made calls to teams at the bottom of the first and were believed to be targeting Kentucky QB Will Levis. Now the bidding is underway for the first pick of Round 2.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2023
The fact that Levis is still on the board is something that very few across the league expected heading into the 2023 NFL Draft.
Levis was expected to be one of the top quarterbacks taken, but only Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson were picked in the first round.
Young went first overall to the Carolina Panthers. Stroud was drafted second by the Houston Texans, and Richardson went fourth to the Indianapolis Colts.
According to ESPN, there was almost a zero percent chance that Levis would slip to the second round heading into the draft.
Will Levis had almost zero chance to *not* be picked in the first round, according to ESPN Analytics.
Where could he land tomorrow? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/LVEsZZjmh7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 28, 2023
There are still several teams that could look to draft a quarterback, including the Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders, Seattle Seahawks and others.
Levis, who played his collegiate ball at Pennsylvania State University before transferring to the University of Kentucky, threw for 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.
He has great arm strength, but clearly NFL teams were not sold on him enough to take him in the first round on Thursday night.
It’s also possible that a team wanted to move up to draft Levis, but other squads weren’t willing to trade out of their spots.
The Steelers are in a good spot at No. 32, as they already have a quarterback of the future in Kenny Pickett, who was selected in the first round of last year’s draft.
If Pittsburgh decides to move the No. 32 overall pick, it could net several other draft selections if a team is extremely set on taking Levis. There’s also a possibility that a bit of a bidding war opens up with multiple teams interested.
The second and third rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft take place on Friday night. The draft concludes after the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds on Saturday.
