There was a bit of eye-raising news about the New England Patriots that dropped just day prior to the 2023 NFL Draft.

Will Levis visited New England on the final day of top 30 visits on Wednesday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported. The Kentucky quarterback has commonly been selected in the top 10 of mock drafts in the months leading up to the draft, even if some draft experts view him as the fourth-best quarterback prospect in this year's class.

The point is, the Patriots brought in a highly-regarded quarterback for a visit a week ahead of the draft. Even if it's “due diligence,” like Rapoport's report said, it suggests that selecting a quarterback in the first round isn't off the table for the Patriots.

So, let's take a look at a few reasons why drafting Levis with the No. 14 overall pick (or possibly sooner) could be a good idea and a bad idea for the Patriots.

3 reasons why the Patriots should draft Levis.

Dual-threat ability

One of the things that's tough to deny about Levis is his ability to make plays with his feet. In his two seasons of action at Penn State, Levis rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns over 14 games, often using his legs to make plays instead of his arm during the limited time he saw.

When Levis took the reigns as the starting quarterback at Kentucky in 2021, he used his legs to add to his passing threat. As a pure runner, Levis ran for 376 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2021 season. Levis didn't run the ball as well in 2022, mostly due to injuries and a weaker offensive line than the year prior, rushing for negative yardage because the college game counts sacks as rushing yards.

But that shouldn't deter the Patriots from thinking that Levis doesn't have the ability to be a mobile quarterback. Levis rushing for as many touchdowns as he did in college would add a much-needed element to the Patriots' offense after they ranked dead last in red zone efficiency last season.

A project that could be worth the upside

Levis certainly isn't one of the surest things at quarterback in recent draft memory. He transferred from Penn State because Sean Clifford started over him and while he had an impressive 2021 season, his 2022 season war from that.

Putting Levis' production aside, his tools are tough to deny. He's 6-foot-4 and weighed 229 pounds at the combine. Almost all scouts praise Levis' cannon of an arm, which not only allows him to throw deep passes but also fit balls in tight windows or outside the hashes with speed. And while he didn't run the 40-yard dash at the combine, he reportedly ran a 4.7 in high school, which would be a near-elite number for a quarterback.

For Levis, it's just a matter of putting all the tools together. If he could, maybe he'd be the next Josh Allen or Justin Herbert. And that ceiling might be higher than whatever ceiling you have with Mac Jones.

Starting fresh

The 2022 season was a disaster for the Patriots' offense. They ranked 26th in total offense and struggled to score in the red zone.

There are certainly reasons to think that Jones can bounce back in 2023, but what if he doesn't? At least by drafting Levis, you can hit the restart button and not have to wait to see if Jones is “The Guy™.” It'd also allow more years to build around a quarterback on a rookie contract, which is arguably the most valuable asset in all of football.

3 reasons why the Patriots shouldn't draft Levis.

His 2022 season wasn't good.

Despite his amazing traits, there's a reason why Levis isn't projected to be the No. 1 overall pick: His 2022 season wasn't good.

Levis threw for 2,406 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over 11 games. While those numbers don't seem that bad, they get worse when you take out some out-of-conference opponents. He didn't even throw for 100 yards but had three interceptions against Tennessee's poor defense. He completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes and threw for just 109 yards against lowly Vanderbilt.

Now, there might be some excuses for Levis, who dealt with some similar issues as Jones did this season. His offensive coordinator departed after his strong 2021 season, as well as much of his offensive line and Wan'Dale Robinson. He also had to go up against some really tough SEC defenses in Georgia and Missouri.

But you also can't help but think that maybe his 2021 season was a fluke or he's an easily solvable quarterback. Either way, it's a bit concerning.

Injuries could be a concern.

Another reason why Levis might have had a strong 2022 was due to injuries. He dislocated a finger on his throwing hand in one game against Ole Miss. He also suffered a foot/ankle injury in that game that forced him to miss a game the following week.

A week after coming back from the foot/ankle injury, Levis suffered an injury to his left shoulder, which caused him to briefly leave the game he was in when he suffered it before returning.

There's certainly some luck involved in suffering that many injuries in one season. But Levis' play style is conducive to those kinds of knicks and bumps. The older injuries could also impact his play moving forward, which is always a concern.

He's probably not an upgrade over Jones, at least in 2023. 

The big selling point around Levis is what he can be, not what he is right now. What he'll be entering his rookie season is a project that will likely need some time to develop and will almost certainly not be a top quarterback right away.

That's not to say that Jones is a top quarterback right now or that he's a slam dunk to be a top quarterback, either. But as a rookie, Jones ranked in the top 14 in passing yards, passing touchdowns and passer rating. While those are average numbers, being an average NFL quarterback is a tall task for a rookie. If you go back in recent history, there's likely just one quarterback in each draft class that finished in the top 15 in those respective stats as a rookie. So, the odds aren't necessarily in Levis' favor in 2023.

The verdict

The Patriots should hold off selecting Levis in the first round. His tools alone are enough to at least make you think about it, though. He's able to move in a way that Jones can't and his arm could end up being one of the best in the league.

However, there's no guarantee that Levis will be able to maximize his tools. And even then, Jones at least showed something as a rookie that could make you think he's a quarterback you can at least build around for the foreseeable future while giving you a strong baseline of play when you give him capable coaching and talent.