Don't quit on Will Levis.
The Tennessee Titans selected Will Levis out of Kentucky with the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and the young quarterback with a big arm showed flashes of franchise QB potential after taking over as the starter midway through the 2023 season.
Unfortunately for the Titans, Levis has struggled heavily in the early going of the 2024 season, appearing to have fallen victim to the dreaded sophomore slump while also dealing with injuries. Yet, the team and fan base shouldn’t be so quick to turn on Levis and write him off as a lost cause.
Will Levis has an exceptional arm
Will Levis might already have one of the strongest arms in the entire league. In this department, he may only be rivaled by true superstars such as Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.
Arm strength is something that can't be taught, because a quarterback either has it or he does not. Levis absolutely has plus arm strength and that gives him a ceiling that most quarterbacks do not have.
His biggest weaknesses are fixable
Will Levis’ biggest weaknesses at this point in his career are entirely fixable. The things he struggles with the most are processing and knowing what to do based on the play call and the look that the defense is presenting.
Levis can sometimes find himself tricked by exotic or disguised coverages, and he doesn’t always recognize pressure early on nor does he react accordingly. He can do a better job of understanding where pressure is coming from and maneuvering in the pocket to give his blockers the best chance of success. He needs to work on identifying coverages and not walking directly into various traps that defenses set for him.
Levis also needs to do a better job of knowing when to take the gamble on a potential big play and when to just settle for the safe and easy completion. It’s never a good idea to do too much of one or the other. Too many quarterbacks play too cautiously all the time and never make a big play when they have a chance.
However, too many other quarterbacks always hunt for the big play and end up turning the ball over too often to be effective for their team. Anybody can have Brett Favre’s gunslinger mentality, but not everybody can have Favre’s talent to back it up and pull it off effectively.
Levis certainly has the talent, but he just needs to learn when to take chances and when to play it safe. If he can strike this balance, he can become a much more effective player and a big weapon for his team.
The good news for the Titans and their fans is that nearly all of Levis’ problems are fixable. Some can be fixed with time and experience, while it might take a change in the coaching staff to fix some of his other issues. However, it took the Bills several years of trying different things out with Josh Allen before the star quarterback was finally able to put it all together. When he did, though, the results were majestic.
The Titans will hope that Levis can follow a similar path. Even if it takes another year to get him to really figure things out and put it all together, they’ll live with it if the result is anything like what Josh Allen has turned into up north.
Levis is willing to put his body on the line and run the ball
One of the things that the Titans should love about Will Levis is that he’s willing to grit his teeth and run the ball. The Connecticut native is a big, physical quarterback who doesn’t mind getting his jersey dirty and is willing to mix it up with linebackers and defensive linemen.
Just like Josh Allen in Buffalo, Levis is willing to take a hit and also embraces the opportunity to deliver hits of his own and punish would-be tacklers.
This skill set gives Levis another avenue to threaten defenses and makes him particularly effective in third or fourth down and short situations. If the Titans can begin to utilize the quarterback sneak to similar effect as the Philadelphia Eagles have with Jalen Hurts, it will effectively give them four downs any time they want. This would be incredibly valuable, and Levis can leverage his physicality and execute that play consistently to devastating effect.
A better team around him could help
One reason not to give up on Will Levis is because improving the team around him and the situation that he finds himself in could also unlock untold upside for the young quarterback. To start with, improving the pass blocking would give him more time to analyze the defense and make the right read.
Levis often finds himself running for his life almost immediately after the ball is snapped, and that is almost never a good thing for a quarterback's decision-making. If Levis has more time in the pocket, that could help him to make better reads and better plays.
Similarly, adding another capable pass-catching threat or two would improve the team’s depth and give Levis more options in terms of throwing the ball. The Titans could also stand to improve their running game. That would take something off Levis' plate and give him one less thing to worry about.
Many of the best current quarterbacks in the NFL started their careers as game managers, and that often paid dividends farther down the road. It would be great for Levis if he had that opportunity as well.
