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Move over Bryce Young, it appears that there’s a new sheriff in town when it comes to trendy favorites to go No. 1 in the 2023 NFL Draft.
That man is Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis.
Yes, that Will Levis. The one who threw for just 2,400 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his senior season.
Levis made waves over the weekend when he shot up the betting odds to become the favorite to be picked No. 2 by the Houston Texans. But the Texans are rumored to skip taking a quarterback with that pick.
Some believed that would cause Levis to fall.
Instead, it appears it’s the exact opposite.
Big movement in NFL Draft over night.
Will Levis moved from 50/1 to 20/1 to go #1 overall at @PointsBetUSA.
Just moved again to 10/1.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 25, 2023
Crazy shift in #NFLDraft No. 1 pick odds just happened. Here are the latest odds (via @FDSportsbook):
Bryce Young (-1200)
Will Levis (+500) 👀
C.J. Stroud (+3400)
Anthony Richardson (+7500)— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) April 25, 2023
Will Levis’ odds to go No. 1 overall at the 2023 NFL Draft 🤯
An hour ago: +4000
Current: +400 pic.twitter.com/E3xGGonkpM— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) April 25, 2023
Levis made a huge surge in odds and is now the second-favorite behind Alabama Bryce Young to go No. 1 to the Carolina Panthers.
Could the Panthers shock everyone and selected Levis over Young and Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud? Anything could happen.
But it appears the shock movement in odds is due, hilariously, to a Reddit post stating that Levis is going No. 1.
“Will Levis is currently +4000 to be the first overall pick. Well ladies and gentleman, he’s telling friends and family Carolina will in fact take him on Thursday. You’re welcome,” SaleAgreeable2834 posted early on Tuesday morning.
Whether it’s really that simple is hard to say. Darren Rovell of Action Network reports that the odds began to move before the Reddit post. So maybe the poster knew what was going on.
Or, they’re just trolling and gambling sites have this poster to thank for generating a ton of revenue. It’s a remarkable story one way or the other.
Ari Melov of The 33rd Team reports that he’s still expecting Young, who remains the betting favorite, to be the pick.
Bryce Young is still widely expected to go No. 1 on Thursday night. But in the world we live in, a random Reddit could cause this much mayhem. It’s incredible. https://t.co/wlBxHFApPY
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 25, 2023
While Levis would undoubtedly love to go No. 1, something tells us he’d survive if that’s not the case.