The Tennessee Titans stopped the slide of quarterback Will Levis during the 2023 NFL Draft. Expected to be a first-round pick, he fell into the second round before Tennessee made a trade up the board to select him.
His NFL career got off to a bang when he made his first start in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons. To that point, the Tennessee Titans offense was stagnant more often than not, but Will Levis added a jolt of energy.
In his debut, he completed 19-of-29 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Most importantly, the Tennessee Titans picked up a 28-23 victory over the visiting Falcons.
That performance was enough for Will Levis to take over the job from Ryan Tannehill, who was injured, and Malik Willis. Alas, the magic that he produced against the Falcons was not seen the rest of the season.
The Kentucky product would throw only four touchdowns in the eight more games he would start. He threw as many interceptions over that span and had four games he failed to reach the 200-yard mark.
That is a major reason that Will Levis landed on Sam Monson of PFF’s list of 10 players under pressure to perform in Year 2. He showed a flash of what he is capable of, but the team needs to see that on a more consistent basis.
“The team has thrown resources at wide receiver and the offensive line to try and give him the chance to succeed this year, but now he has to show that he can — otherwise, that opportunity will be short-lived…
Levis has outstanding physical talent and has already flashed a high ceiling, but now he is under pressure to seize the opportunity he wasn’t sure he was ever going to get when he slipped in the draft,” Monson wrote.
Wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd were both signed, joining DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks. The Tennessee Titans also signed running back Tony Pollard to pair with Tyjae Spears to help replace Derrick Henry.
Along the offensive line, Lloyd Cushenberry, Geron Christian, Saahdiq Charles and Leroy Watson were all signed in free agency. The Tennessee Titans also used their first-round pick on Alabama stud tackle JC Latham.
As Monson noted, this was all done in an effort to ensure Will Levis has the tools around him to succeed. That is a strong supporting cast, along with a new offensive-minded head coach Bryan Callahan, for him to work with.
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