Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft is in the books. On Friday night, we have the second and third rounds, and there are plenty of potential impact players still on the board.
One of those players is Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, who at times was among the favorites to go as high as No. 2 overall. Instead, Levis dropped out of the first round entirely, and will presumably be one of the most sought-after players when things kick off on Friday evening.
In fact, Levis was already coveted toward the end of the proceedings on Thursday night, as according to NFL Media the Pittsburgh Steelers have already received multiple calls from teams looking to move up to No. 32 (the first pick of the second round), with Levis as their target.
With that in mind, and with trades sure to rock the draft just as they usually do, we're going to take a look at some of the teams that are most likely to move up (for Levis, or for someone else) or down in the draft on Day 2.
Most likely to move up
- Lions: We have already seen that Detroit is more than willing to move up or down the board multiple times, and the Lions owning the No. 34 pick might make the cost to move to 32 a bit lower than it would for some other teams. The Lions have repeatedly signaled confidence in Jared Goff, but landing Levis as a potential successor in the second round would be a strong move.
- Raiders: The Raiders were reportedly after one of the top quarterbacks in the class, but couldn't land a trade to move up to No. 1 and then Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson all went in the top four. Las Vegas clearly felt the value of Tyree Wilson was better than Levis, but with Jimmy Garoppolo essentially on a one-year deal where the team can choose whether or not to bring him back in each of the successive two seasons, they have to be considered a candidate to get in the Levis sweepstakes on Friday night.
- Seahawks: I feel like a broken record here, but Geno Smith was signed to what essentially amounts to a one-year deal earlier this offseason, and the Seahawks -- armed with a ton of picks, and coming off of the best draft in the league last year and landing Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Thursday night -- could decide that the value of Levis at the top of the second round is too good to pass up.
- Titans: Tennessee was considered the most likely team to stop Levis' slide in the first round if he made it out of the top 10, but opted to take Peter Skoronski instead. The Titans still need more help along the offensive line, as well as at the skill positions, but with Ryan Tannehill almost certainly nearing the end of his tenure with the team, they could also be in the Levis market again in Round 2.
- Browns: Cleveland won't be a player for Levis, but its first pick does not come until No. 74 overall and the Browns brass could get antsy that it might miss out on its player of choice and try to move up into the back half of the second round.
- 49ers: San Francisco did not have a pick on Day 1, and doesn't have a pick until it is scheduled to make three of the final four picks of Day 2. But we know Kyle Shanahan loves to move up if he has a specific target in mind, and the 49ers do have 11 total picks so it's not like they would be sacrificing too many bites at the apple.
Most likely to move down
- Steelers: Well, there was already a report that there are multiple teams interested in the No. 32 pick, and because of the split nature of the draft, there is more perceived value to making the first pick of the second round than there is actual value. That could help the Steelers get more than expected in a trade.
- Cardinals: Arizona moved down from No. 3 and then up to No. 6 on Thursday night. Given the state of the roster and the likelihood that Kyler Murray misses some, if not all of the 2023 season, the Cards would be best served by accumulating as many draft assets as possible, and trading down from No. 33 (especially if Pittsburgh doesn't trade its pick) could be the best path to doing so.
- Rams: The Rams aren't set to make a pick until No. 36 overall, and even though they have 11 picks, their roster is in rough enough shape that they badly need to grab more of them. With Sean McVay seemingly committed to coaching for at least a few more years, reshaping the roster for 2024 and beyond could be the best path.
- Patriots: Bill Belichick always trades down.
