The two biggest stories that dominated the first day of the 2023 NFL Draft focused around Lamar Jackson and Will Levis. And apparently, the two could have been linked for a long time if things had played out differently.
Jackson has been the starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens for the past five years, but the relationship between team and player had appeared to be deteriorating. There had been stalls in contract talks. There were questions about the severity of Jackson’s injury that held him out of contests. And it all culminated with the player requesting a trade back in the early stages of March.
Will Levis Could Have Been The 22nd Overall Pick
Report: The #Ravens would have "considered" drafting QB Will Levis in the 1st round had Lamar Jackson not agreed to a contract extension prior to the Draft, per @JFowlerESPN
After talking to people around the NFL Fowler believes that finalizing a deal for Jackson before… pic.twitter.com/2VlIesQ3IA
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 8, 2023
But the two sides were eventually able to mend the fences. On April 27th, the morning of the first round of the NFL Draft, the Ravens signed Jackson to a $260 million contract extension with $185 million in guarantees. The deal spans over five years.
The future of the franchise could have looked a whole lot different if the signing didn’t happen when it did.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Ravens would have considered drafting Will Levis with the 22nd overall pick if they hadn’t signed Lamar Jackson that morning.
“In the absence of a Lamar Jackson deal by the start of the draft, I believe, after asking around, that the Ravens would have considered quarterback Will Levis with the 22nd overall pick. Finalizing a deal for Jackson before Thursday night was prudent for Baltimore, which could implement the possibility of drafting a passer as leverage.”
Levis was the talk of the first round that Thursday night, as he waited in the green room for the entirety of the evening waiting for his name to be called. When it wasn’t, he packed his bags and headed home. He was finally selected early the next day by the Tennessee Titans with the 33rd overall pick.
Lamar Jackson officially signed his five-year contract today.
📷 @Ravens pic.twitter.com/B6JVDZbZHM
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 4, 2023
Fowler goes on to explain that the team held the leverage before the draft began, with the threat of them potentially selecting a QB prospect on Day 1 or Day 2. It was imperative for them to get the deal done when they did in order to avoid running out of options.
It seemed like things had to work out the way that they did. Odell Beckham Jr.’s first year in Baltimore would have seen him catching passes from Tyler Huntley and Will Levis.
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