Why the Titans are the perfect fit for Will Levis
While Kentucky quarterback Will Levis was surely disappointed he didn’t hear his name called during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday, he didn’t have a long wait once Round 2 began.
The Tennessee Titans traded picks No. 41 and 72 plus a 2024 third-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals to move up and grab Levis with the 33rd overall pick (plus the No. 81 pick).
Though he had to wait longer than expected to be picked, Tennessee is actually the perfect place for Levis to land.
With soon-to-be 35-year-old Ryan Tannehill entrenched as the starter, Levis won’t face the same kind of pressure new division rivals C.J. Stroud or Anthony Richardson will with their new respective teams. Tannehill’s contract expired after the 2023 season, and transitioning to Levis in 2024 is the perfect way for first-year general manager Ran Carthon to put his stamp on the Titans roster.
At 6-foot-3 and 231 pounds, Levis has the prototypical size for a starting NFL quarterback. He also has many of the physical tools that make scouts salivate — athleticism, a compact release, a rocket arm, good pocket awareness and he’s a strong deep ball thrower.
Levis also has experience playing in a pro-style offense. His best college season came in 2021 with ex-Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen as his OC. That year, he completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,826 yards, 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and added 376 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
In fact, the offense Coen described as the best fit for Levis in the NFL is eerily similar to the one the Titans run.
“If you get him in an offense where you run the football, get him on the perimeter with bootlegs and nakeds and movement, then max-protect play-pass, he can make every throw,” Coen told The Athletic two weeks ago. “…The guy’s superpower is play-action, pushing the ball downfield, making every throw on the field. That’s his superpower. That’s what he’s great at.”
Many scouts questioned Levis’ ball placement, high number of errant throws, tendency to be turnover-prone and high volume of forced plays leading up to the draft.
He now has the opportunity to prove that all of the deterrents are a result of his underwhelming supporting cast (Coen left for the NFL, UK had 1,083 fewer rushing yards and Levis lost his top three receivers from the previous year) and not because of a fluke 2021 season.
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