Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis reached a career milestone in Sunday's win over the Houston Texans.
It was the 17th game that Levis has started in his NFL career. That's equivalent to one full rookie season. Levis doesn't get the benefit of the doubt anymore for "lack of experience."
But instead of separating Levis' 17 NFL appearances into "rookie year" and "year two," what if we combined them and judged it as one rookie campaign?
Through 17 starts, Will Levis has thrown for 3,255 yards. Only 21 rookie QBs have ever surpassed that mark in their first year, and Levis had two of his starts cut short in the first quarter because of an injury. Levis also has 18 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions, 232 rushing yards, and one touchdown on the ground.
Levis' career quarterback rating is currently 84.8. That's right on par with what Caleb Williams and Drake Maye have done this season.
If those were Levis' numbers through one season instead of being spread across two partial seasons, what would the fan reaction be? I think Titans fans would reasonably want to see less interceptions and turnovers. That's probably the biggest area in which Levis needs to improve. It's a fair critique. But overall, I think the consensus would be pretty optimistic.
It would be reasonable to assume that Levis was only going to improve. Especially when you consider that he has been playing his best football as of late.
Over the last three games since returning from injury, Levis has thrown for 748 yards, 5 touchdowns, two interceptions, and completed 69.2 percent of his passes. That's good for a passer rating of 110.4 in his last three outings. Only one quarterback in the NFL (Lamar Jackson) has a higher passer rating than 110.4 this season.
So I ask again...What would the vibe be surrounding Will Levis if his first 17 games all occurred during one NFL season and he was looking like one of the best QBs in the league at the end? I think the league would be pretty optimistic that the Titans have their answer at quarterback for at the least the short-term future. I think Levis would be the most popular player in Nashville. So why then is everyone so eager to move on from Levis and take another chance in the draft?
The gaps in between Levis' starts caused by injuries and the offseason have forced people to lose perspective on 1.) How little NFL experience he has, 2.) How bad the Titans' supporting cast has been at times, and 3.) The coaching changes he has already had to deal with.
I could not be more excited for the end of 2024. Levis seems to have turned over a new leaf. He looks like a different quarterback now that he is healthy and fully acclimated in Brian Callahan's offense. The last three games have impressed me...he's handled the blitz well, created explosive passes with "wow throws," shown growth in protecting the football, and we should have six more uninterrupted games to watch it all evolve. If you already wrote Will Levis off, you did it too early.
