Will Levis enters scheme fit, great playing time opportunity with Tennessee Titans
Will Levis did not have to wait long on Friday night to hear his name. The Kentucky quarterback was the second player taken on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft when the Tennessee Titans traded up to grab the toolsy quarterback prospect at No. 33 overall.
New general manager Ran Carthon has made his first swing at the most important position in football. The Titans have many roster holes that need to be filled, but Levis has a chance to become a starter in the AFC South as soon as the 2023 season.
Wide open depth chart
Former top-10 pick Ryan Tannehill is entering his 12th season in the NFL and the fifth with Tennessee. The Texas A&M product has led the Titans to three playoff appearances and posted a robust 9.6 yards per attempt in this play-action heavy scheme in 2019. However, age is catching up to Tannehill.
The former Miami Dolphins quarterback will turn 35 years old in July and has just one year remaining on his contract. This player and organization relationship will end soon.
In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Titans spent a third-round pick on Liberty quarterback Malik Willis. However, the man that made that pick — Jon Robinson — is no longer the general manager in Tennessee and Willis was replaced by NFL journeyman Joshua Dobbs late in the season as the Titans made a last-minute push for a division title.
All signs point to Willis likely being out of the starting QB mix in Nashville. Tannehill is wrapping up his career in Tennessee. Head coach Mike Vrabel needs a new franchise quarterback. Will Levis should get an opportunity to grab a QB1 job early in his professional football career.
Run-heavy, play-action scheme
During a strong run for the Titans under Mike Vrabel, the AFC South organization has won with defense and a strong running game. Ran Carthon is coming from a San Francisco 49ers organization that has won with defense and a strong running game. The identity has been established in Nashville.
That aligns with what Will Levis could need early in his NFL career.
The Kentucky quarterback was a first-round prospect in this draft thanks to prototypical size, arm talent, and movement skills as a functional rusher. Levis also owns toughness, playing experience, and familiarity operating in a pro-style scheme. The second-round selection has big strides to make as a dropback passer and will benefit from having designed reads in a well-schemed play-action passing game. Levis will get that in Tennessee.
Tennessee spent a first-round pick on the safest offensive line prospect (Peter Skoronski) in this draft. Star tailback Derrick Henry likely won’t be in Tennessee too much longer, but new offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was an in-house hire. The offensive identity is not changing.
The Titans ranked No. 6 in the NFL in run play percentage (49.1%) last season. In Levis’ best season in college with Liam Coen calling plays in 2021, Kentucky ranked No. 4 in the SEC in run play percentage (56.8%). Levis will play in a similar offense and the Titans should take advantage of the quarterback’s legs while providing some good play-action opportunities whenever Levis gets a chance to become the starter in Nashville.
It was a long wait but Tennessee feels like a good fit
Will Levis had four different offensive coordinators in five years at Penn State and Kentucky. The Tennessee Titans will be on their third offensive coordinators in four years after dismissing Todd Downing following the 2022 season. This lack of stability for a defensive head coach is not an ideal situation for a rookie quarterback.
Meanwhile, the Titans have a sizable hole at wide receiver as this franchise needs former first-round pick Treylon Burks to become a true WR1 sooner rather later. Elsewhere, the offensive line still needs work despite signing left tackle Andre Dillard in free agency and adding Peter Skoronski in the first-round.
This is not a perfect landing spot for Will Levis. However, there is an obvious fit for the Kentucky product.
Levis needs to get live reps to progress as a prospect, but he also would benefit from a specific scheme. The Titans will provide that scheme (heavy play-action) and the rebuilding franchise will likely give Levis an early opportunity to start as a rookie once the team falls out of playoff contention with Ryan Tannehill taking the snaps.
Tennessee will be invested in seeing Levis succeed. The plan will be for the Kentucky quarterback to start games and use his big arm to take shot play swings in the play-action passing game. Levis had to go through a rough Green Room moment, but the quarterback lands in a good situation with a new offensive coordinator he can grow with as the Titans attempt to rebuild to go contend with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South.
C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis will all be starting quarterbacks in the same division for the foreseeable future. The NFL knows how to create storylines.
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