Insider: Is Will Levis the best fit for the Colts?

Leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft, IndyStar will preview prospects who could be a fit for the Colts. They pick at No. 4 in the first round, No. 35 in the second round and No. 79 in the third round.

Previous prospect previews:

Bryce Young, QB, Alabama

C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

Will Anderson, EDGE, Alabama

Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida

Today's preview looks at Kentucky quarterback Will Levis.

Height: 6-4

Weight: 229

Projected Round: 1

Key stats: Started 24 games at Kentucky over two seasons after a transfer from Penn State. Completed 65.7% of passes for 5,232 yards, 43 touchdowns and 23 interceptions on 8.2 yards per attempt. Ran for 17 touchdowns across his Penn State and Kentucky careers. Led Kentucky to a 10-3 season and Citrus Bowl victory in 2021. Two-time team captain at Kentucky.

Quotable: "I have as talented of an arm as anybody, and even when I don't have efficient movements and am off-pace a little, I can still pull it off because of how strong my arm is. But being able to move to a position as efficiently as possible, to get my feet in the right spots, to be consistent and efficient in my delivery has been the biggest part of the training."

Analysis: It's hard to find a more polarizing prospect this year than Will Levis.

It's possible to love everything he brings to the table, and some team likely will. He has the 6-foot-4, 229-pound build, the arm he calls a cannon, the feet to escape the pocket or barrel a linebacker for a first down. Add in the maturity of a fifth-year senior and two-time captain and the advanced ways he speaks about pro-style concepts, and it's easy to see a full package that presents both a readymade floor and a high ceiling.

It's also possible to run for the hills from the warning signs peppered throughout his profile. He wasn't able to beat out Sean Clifford at Penn State. He took a step backward rather than forward as a senior. He speaks with a brashness his resume doesn't always back up. He threw 10 interceptions and took 36 sacks in just 11 games last season, crafting a lowlight package that could leave NFL defensive coordinators salivating.

It's much the conversation teams had around Josh Allen in 2018. It's easy to forget now that he's a perennial MVP candidate, but Allen was the fourth quarterback taken in that class because his resume didn't match the size, strength, mobility or confidence he projected in random bursts. In his final season, he threw a whopping 16 touchdown passes.

As a result, some saw Allen as a potential future star and some didn't believe he was even in the Day 2 conversation. Ask around enough on Levis and the range of opinions is similar.

INSIDER: Will Levis is an enigma, but will he become the Colts' enigma?

It's not a perfect comparison because the styles are quite different, with Allen struggling with completion percentage by always hunting home runs and Levis living so much in the middle of the field, lacking some of the highlight plays. But the conversation illuminates how easy it is to forget about what the range of outcomes was for Allen, and what it is for Levis now.

It wasn't all boom or bust. It isn't for Levis either.

One of the reasons to like Levis is he feels trustworthy to step in and immediately conform to a veteran locker room, run a playbook with NFL verbiage and become and early conductor of an offense. That counts for something to teams like the Colts, who don't have an incumbent quarterback and might not be able to keep a rookie on the bench too long. Add in the mobility that scored 17 rushing touchdowns, and you can envision an offense that works the play-action roll-out concepts he's used to with quarterback run designs that produce a player you can compete with early.

But that's assuming something that's never fully in a quarterback's grasp, which is his health. Levis lost his last year with shoulder and foot injuries, sapping the run designs and willingness to push it on scrambles that had made him such an exciting force in 2022, when he combined for 33 touchdowns and led Kentucky to 10 wins, tied for the program's most in a season since 1977. Rushing can bring up the floor for a young quarterback, but only if he stays upright.

But if Levis can find the balance between a sustainable running style, his rhythm throws over the middle and the occasional deep ball on a calculated risk, he can stress defenses in personnel grouping and alignment in a way that creates a newfound ceiling. If one of those three aren't regularly there, he could be pressed into the mistakes that summed up last season.

It will likely come down to coaching and surrounding talent, which has been the story of his career so far. Playing with NFL players like Wan'Dale Robinson and Darian Kinnard and for offensive coordinator Liam Cohen brought out his best in 2021. Losing that star power, playing through pain and running a jumbled offense under a soon-fired new offensive coordinator brought some lowlights in 2022.

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That's where the Colts could be a good fit. They're headed toward their sixth Week 1 starting quarterback in six years. They hired Shane Steichen because they trust him to build an offense for any style of quarterback. With Levis, he could incorporate the play-action intermediate throws by marrying it to a lethal run game with Jonathan Taylor. Add in the quarterback runs, and the Colts could get Levis away from feeling like he needs to win it all on a single play.

But they're also picking fourth overall for a reason, and it's that they don't have a roster ready to win in spite of the quarterback. They need to plug holes at wide receiver and offensive line to keep their passer out of situations where he's trying to do too much. The growing pains might be glaring still.

Levis doesn't have the safe decision making and ball placement of Ohio State's C.J. Stroud or the break-away athleticism or developed deep ball of Florida's Anthony Richardson. With playing experience, physical traits and a high reported S2 cognition test score, he could be a blend of the two that minimizes some of their risks.

Whether or not he's the pick for the Colts could come down to how much they want to risk along the way.

Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts draft prospect preview: Kentucky QB Will Levis