When players do their Combine press conferences, they’re often asked who they compare themselves to in the league.
Will Levis, who’s expected to be one of the first quarterbacks off the board in April, didn’t necessarily use the comparison tool when he spoke to reporters on Friday morning. But he did talk about how he’s been studying one of the league’s best young passers as he continues his journey into the pros.
“Joe [Burrow] is someone — especially in this offseason — that I’ve focused a lot on,” Levis said. “This offseason, compared to offseasons in the past, I’ve really been trying to kind of perfect the movement leading up to the throw. I think that when I make some inaccurate passes, it’s due to kind of how I’m kind of initiating leading into it.
“A lot of times I can kind of get away with it because of how talented of an arm I have. But Joe I think does it better than anyone else in terms of movement in the pocket. Not the fastest guy, but he’s able to move so efficiently to put himself in a stable base to make efficient throws. And I’ve been watching a lot of film on him this past offseason.”
Levis was then asked explicitly who he compares himself to, and started his answer with, “Everyone is different” before bringing up another one of the top AFC quarterbacks.
“I mean, people make the Josh [Allen] comparison, which I can see,” Levis said. “We’re definitely two different types of guys. But the way he uses his body, his physicality while being smart doing it, [I’ve] been able to ask him about that a little bit and [he] said, yeah, got to be smart with his body but at the same time if you’ve got the ability to use it in situations where you need to, it’s a good way to go out there and show your thing.
“Joe, like I said before, trying to emulate a lot of what he does. But nobody else really that I’m really leaning on heavily to learn from.”
Levis is planning on throwing during Saturday’s drills, saying, “I’ve got a cannon and I want to show it off.”
He’s a likely first-round pick this spring, along with Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson.