The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already made this mistake once. Spending a draft pick on a quarterback that did nothing to change anything for the franchise was bad enough.

Even with the state of the franchise at the time, going out and spending a second-round pick on Kyle Trask seemed like a waste.

Now, rather than handing the open quarterback job to Trask after two years of "learning behind Tom Brady," the Bucs instead went out and signed Baker Mayfield, a player with more experience and a much higher ceiling.

Only the Trask diehards think he has any shot of beating Mayfield in a fair competition, and even they likely have their doubts.

So, why should the Bucs make the same mistake again by targeting Kentucky quarterback Will Levis in one of the early rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft?

The simple answer is they shouldn't.

To be fair to Levis, his athletic profile alone makes him a better option to become a pro quarterback than Trask, but don't let his build and athleticism fool you.

This guy doesn't move the needle for the Bucs.

Levis has too many issues in his game, namely interceptions (ten in 283 attempts in 2022) despite a system that was extremely quarterback-friendly, and while there are many reasons to spend draft picks on project quarterbacks, Levis could end up having traits that are closer to Blaine Gabbert rather than Josh Allen.

The need just isn't there for the Bucs, even if it is obvious that Mayfield and Trask aren't the answers going forward.

If the Buccaneers really want a quarterback that is capable of changing the future, they would be much better off if they trade up and select one of the guys with more certainty baked into their profile.

Still, it seems unlikely. At this point, it appears Bucs fans will have to pay for the three years of Tom Brady and success by watching a Mayfield or Trask for a year.

This is the way.