The next quarterback for the Carolina Panthers may need a warrant to walk around town.
In his latest 2023 mock draft, ESPN’s Todd McShay has the Panthers staying put at the ninth overall spot and taking Kentucky’s Will Levis. Levis, who described his arm as a cannon over at the combine this past week, had himself a fine Saturday in Indianapolis—and could be the franchise guy owner David Tepper has been searching for.
McShay writes:
If three QBs do fly off the board in the first four picks, the Panthers might get jumpy and move up the board to make sure Levis doesn’t also escape them. They get lucky here, though. Levis has, in his words, a “cannon” for an arm and can run over defenders when he takes off as a rusher, thanks to a 6-4, 229-pound frame. He battled injuries last season at Kentucky, but teams will wonder if they can fix his mechanics and ball placement, which contributed to 23 interceptions over the past two years. He has so much ball velocity, but he has to get better at knowing when to take something off.
Levis was no Anthony Richardson, but he did impress on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. The 23-year-old posted a 34-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, four-inch broad, and followed that with a strong throwing display.
But if the outlook remains as it does now, the Panthers would be extremely lucky to see any of the “big four” quarterbacks—cannon-armed or otherwise—land to them at No. 9 come April 27.