Colts’ Jim Irsay Reveals Strategy for No. 4 Pick if Preferred QB Was Unavailable

The owner hinted at an intriguing alternate path for Indianapolis.

The first round of the 2023 NFL draft is history. As many predicted, three quarterbacks were taken in the first four picks — Alabama's Bryce Young by the Panthers, Ohio State's C.J. Stroud by the Texans, and Florida's Anthony Richardson by the Colts.

However, Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay presented an intriguing alternate path that could have unfolded had Richardson not been available at No. 4.

"We were going to take (Kentucky quarterback Will) Levis or trade down,” Irsay said Saturday, quoted in The Indianapolis Star. “I think we’d take Will Levis. … We liked him.”

Levis had been a popular name in the weeks leading up to the draft, with some suggesting he could go as high as the top five. However, the Wildcats gunslinger slid all the way to No. 33, where the Titans snapped him up ahead of quarterback Ryan Tannehill's contract year.

Despite any pre-draft anxieties in Indianapolis, Richardson was indeed on the board at No. 4, and the Colts pounced.

"We kind of felt like if we had the first pick in the draft, we'd probably take Anthony," Irsay said. "That's how much we liked him."