How the Titans Have Put Will Levis in Position to Succeed

Whether Will Levis ultimately succeeds or fails as quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, one thing he won’t be able to say is that his team didn’t put him in a position to succeed.

The Titans have built an offensive arsenal around Levis, the No. 33 overall pick in 2023, via free agency and the draft since the end of the 2023 regular season. Now, it’s on Levis to make it work with a new head coach, Brian Callahan, who was hired to replace Mike Vrabel.

Will the former Kentucky star be the next Josh Allen or the next Carson Wentz? Only time will tell (from USA Today):

Whatever happens in 2024, this will likely be a make-it or break-it year for Levis, and patience is in short supply in the NFL.

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Will Levis Gets Keys to Franchise in Tennessee

Kentucky QB experienced one of the most infamous draft-day drops of all time

Before 2023, NFL fans had a collective memory of what a precipitous draft day fall looked like with Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers getting increasingly more uncomfortable in the green room at the 2005 NFL Draft as he free-fell through the first round until the Green Bay Packers mercifully selected him with the No. 24 overall pick.

That was, until Levis came along. In a draft that saw a lot of QB-needy teams picking high, Levis was projected to go as high as No. 2 overall to the Houston Texans—and America got to watch him sit in the green room with his mom, sister, and then-girlfriend as he fell completely out of the first round.

The Titans ended Levis’ nightmare when they selected him with the first pick of the second round. It’s worth pointing out that the damage may have been done by Levis himself before the draft, thanks to a series of bizarre interviews in which he said he ate bananas without peeling them and mixed mayonnaise in his coffee. He later said that wasn’t true, which may have been even weirder.

To add insult to injury, Levis started the season with the Titans as their third-string quarterback behind Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis, the Titans’ third-round pick in 2022.

Written off by a good chunk of the football world at that point, Levis became the Titans’ starter in Week 8 after an ankle injury to Tannehill, and threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons, after which Vrabel named Levis as the starter moving forward.

Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, Levis had another notable win on December 11, 2023, against the Miami Dolphins, rallying the Titans from a 14-point deficit with 2:49 remaining for a 28-27 win in which he threw for 327 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Levis finished the season with a 3-6 record in nine starts, putting up 1,808 passing yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions while being sacked a jarring 28 times in just nine games.

Titans Filled Up Roster With Talent to Surround Levis

Calvin Ridley’s $92 million contract highlights Titans’ offseason moves

If you want evidence the Titans are trying to make sure Levis has a legitimate chance to succeed in the NFL, just look at three players the franchise added on the offensive side of the ball in the offseason.

The team spent big in free agency, landing wide receiver Calvin Ridley (four years, $92 million), running back Tony Pollard (three years, $24 million), and center Lloyd Cushenberry (four years, $50 million).

Ridley is the biggest wild card of the bunch and received $50 million guaranteed in his contract. After a career-high 1,374 receiving yards with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020, he played just five games across the next two seasons due to injury and a yearlong suspension in 2022 for violating the league’s gambling policy—a misstep that cost him $11.2 million in salary.

Ridley returned in 2023 with 1,016 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2024, he will be paired with DeAndre Hopkins to provide Levis with two legitimate Pro Bowl talents to target. The Titans added even more experience to the wide receiver group when they signed veteran Tyler Boyd to a one-year, $4.5 million contract on May 7.

The Titans were also thinking about Levis when it came to the 2024 NFL Draft, where they selected 6-foot-6, 342-pound Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham with the No. 7 overall pick. Latham graded out at over 80 percent in pass protection over his last two college seasons and will play next to 2023 first-round pick and left guard Peter Skoronski.

Even with that talent infusion, oddsmakers in Las Vegas have little faith Tennessee can pull off a turnaround with Levis at the wheel. FanDuel has set the Titans’ over/under win total at 6.5 for 2024.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise. All salary info via Spotrac.

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