My long-term strategy would be to keep drafting QBs where I had the opportunity, and in most cases where Levis developed into something less than a top QB I would trade him before paying him and then go with another young QB on a cheap contract. I don't mind repeating the process over because it's a process that is generating surplus value. QBs are valued more than other positions and yet the rookie wage scale is the same for everybody. There's a significant opportunity there that can be exploited by drafting and playing QBs on their rookie contract.You might be fine with Levis in that scenario. But you also have to recognize that in time, you'll also have to pay him market value. Which just doesn't add up. Or, let him walk & repeat the process over.
If Levis did hit, then paying top money for top QBs is a problem I'd like to have, particularly if he was willing to sign a Mahomes type deal. That gives you 6 years of advantage due to cheap contracts, and then due to the rising salary cap the remaining years end up very reasonable.
I would argue that Zach Wilson and Baker Mayfield were simply busts. That could be the case with Levis, as it is with any player we draft. Levis is probably riskier than most of the players in my top 20 but as a QB the potential reward is also better. Daniel Jones lost to a team that also had a rookie QB contract. If you remove the QBs from the equation then the Eagles roster was much better than the Giants roster, and both of those teams would likely have been worse if they were paying veteran QB money.That said, the more limited your QB, the more failure points you create on your roster.
Alex Smith in KC is a great example of the value of drafting QBs. He was a solid veteran QB with the Chiefs, but they took a shot on a rookie QB contract and it paid off. Even in year 7 the cap hit for Mahomes is still $9mil less than his OTC valuation and they've had $200m in surplus value from his contract to stockpile a talented roster around him. That's the high end outcome, but you don't have to win the lottery on Mahomes in order for a rookie QB contract to still generate a 5x return on investment.
You do need an offensive coaching staff willing to put your players in the best opportunity to succeed, particularly if we are talking about toolsy prospects like Richardson and Levis. Pete had no problem going heavy RO with Russ initially and the running game just works better when the QB is a threat as well. We also have some nice pieces in place to supplement a young QB and can hopefully add another weapon or two this draft.