As the Tennessee Titans enter into seller mode ahead of the NFL’s Oct. 31 trade deadline, the team has a checklist of things to evaluate over the final 11 weeks of the regular season, starting with quarterback.
As Ryan Tannehill recovers from an ankle injury suffered in a Week 6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Titans are reportedly prepping rookie QB Will Levis for his first start.
Will Levis on his possible opportunity to play this Sunday and what he did last week to prepare. #Titans pic.twitter.com/4eWrA0F27i
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) October 25, 2023
But Sunday’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons is about more than just Tennessee being the fifth team to start a rookie QB this season — it’s about Levis’ audition for the starting job next season and the direction the franchise is heading in 2024 and beyond.
Tennessee already knows what kind of QB Malik Willis is. The 2022 third-round draft choice of former general manager Jon Robinson has career completion percentage of 53 and averaged 92 yards passing per start with zero touchdowns and three interceptions.
Not much to build a future around. But Levis at least symbolizes hope.
The 24-year-old rookie has a big arm, a compact release, good pocket awareness and he is a strong deep-ball thrower. He’s also the prototypical size of a starting QB in the NFL (6-foot-3, 231 pounds).
Nice footwork and good mobility here from Levis to escape the pressure and turn this into a solid gain on 2nd down #TENvsCHI pic.twitter.com/zNwwcDHzDo
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) August 12, 2023
3rd-and-13 throw from Will Levis goes for 21 yards and a first down. A little low but a good read and nice pump to move the defense and convert #TENvsCHI pic.twitter.com/73bbeMCawt
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) August 12, 2023
Tennessee traded third-round picks in 2023 and 2024 to move up to the top of the second round to acquire Levis, so clearly the front office believes in him.
But if they’re wrong, they need to know sooner rather than later with a 2024 draft class that’s loaded with QBs and the Titans potentially picking in the top five or top 10.
Per Tankathon, Tennessee currently has the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft. Six of the team’s final 11 games are against opponents with a winning record, and the Titans remaining strength of schedule ranks in the top half of the league (their final 11 opponents have a combined 39-32 record).
So, it’s highly probable — especially if key players Derrick Henry, Denico Autry and DeAndre Hopkins are traded before next week — that the Titans could have a premium first-round pick.
Southern Cal's Caleb Williams is likely out of the equation, but the Titans must decide if they’ve seen enough of Levis to convince them not to go all-in on North Carolina's Drake Maye or consider drafting Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix, Michigan's J.J. McCarthy or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.
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