Will Levis, after NFL draft free fall, taken in second round by Titans - ESPN

After tumbling out of the first round of the NFL draft, Will Levis found a home with the Tennessee Titans, who traded up Friday night to select the former Kentucky quarterback with the No. 33 overall pick.

After not taking a quarterback in Thursday's first round, the Titans made an aggressive move for their potential quarterback of the future one night later by agreeing to a trade with the Arizona Cardinals, who acquired a second-round pick (No. 41 overall) and third-round pick (No. 72) in this year's draft and a third-rounder in 2024.

«Last night was tough,» Levis said. «I knew that what was meant to be was going to happen. It's one of those things where you feel like you're going to handle yourself and be composed, but then the waterworks started flowing and just emotions got overwhelming.»

The Titans also received a third-round pick (No. 81) from the Cardinals to land Levis, who was widely projected to be selected in the first round Thursday but was still available ahead of Friday's second round.

Levis, who left Kansas City, Missouri, to return home Friday, said he was «ecstatic» to get a call from the Titans, who had also hosted him for a pre-draft visit.

«I ended up where I was meant to be, and I'm just looking forward to competing and getting started,» he said.

Levis became the fourth quarterback selected in this year's draft and joins Houston's C.J. Stroud (No. 2 overall pick) and Indianapolis' Anthony Richardson (No. 4) as rookie signal-callers in the AFC South.

«Those are my guys,» Levis said. «I was extremely happy to see them go where they did. As long as they're not playing me, I wish them the best. (It's) definitely going to be cool to have a lot of young quarterbacks in that division.»

Levis completed 65.4%