Hold the mayo: Here's the player who must star for Titans to surprise

In veteran NFL writer Mike Sando's annual QB tiers project for The Athletic, Levis was ranked tied for 26th among 30 QBs.

“I do think there was good tape on him last year,” an NFL executive told Sando. “He showed confidence, he had a nice energy about him on the field, he had a toughness about him. He looked like he can be a guy. He can get wound up a little tight, so I want to see how he handles the stress of expectations.”

Levis also must improve his accuracy (58.4 percent last season).

"If Levis can get his accuracy on track after ranking dead-last in the league in on-target rate in 2023, he might have a chance to be a franchise quarterback in Tennessee," Bleacher Report's veteran NFL writer Brad Gagnon wrote recently.

In the offseason, the Titans surrounded Levis with more weapons, adding ex-Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, former Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd and ex-Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley to go with WR DeAndre Hopkins. Those playmakers alone are reasons for Titans fans to be excited.

But the Titans also beefed up their 18th-ranked defense from a season ago with former Chargers LB Kenneth Murray Jr. and ex-Rams LB Ernest Jones Jr. And for the secondary, Tennessee signed former Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and traded for Chiefs star cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. The Titans also signed safeties Quandre Diggs and three-time All-Pro Jamal Adams.

Titans beat writer Nick Suss of The Tennessean set the ceiling for the Titans at 11-6 and contending for a division championship and a floor at 4-13 and a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Per FanDuel, the Titans are the longest shot to win the division. 

A re-tooling of the offense and defense will help Tennessee. But improved play from the starting quarterback — "Mr. Mayo" — is essential for the Titans to go from last to something much better.