Tennessee Titans' Quarterback Dilemma: Levis or Willis? Depth Chart Analysis & Future Plans

The NFL offseason is often a time of speculation, anticipation, and strategic decisions for teams looking to secure their success in the upcoming season. One of the most critical positions in American football is the quarterback, often referred to as the leader of the offense. The Tennessee Titans find themselves in a quarterback conundrum, with two young prospects vying for the coveted spot on the depth chart. In this article, we delve into the complex situation surrounding Malik Willis and Will Levis, evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, and potential impact on the Titans' future.

The Tennessee Titans' quarterback situation has been a topic of significant discussion and debate. While much of the attention has been on the team's primary quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, the spotlight has also turned to the young guns on the roster—Malik Willis and Will Levis. Last season, the Titans selected Malik Willis from Liberty University, hinting at their eagerness to secure their future quarterback. However, the team's actions in the current season, including the selection of Will Levis, have sparked intrigue and speculation.

The Rise and Fall of Quarterback Prospects
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In the realm of NFL scouting and draft analysis, quarterback prospects are often subjected to intense scrutiny. Both Malik Willis and Will Levis entered the league with high hopes, yet their trajectories have taken unexpected turns. The narrative surrounding Levis and his potential has shifted, raising questions about his readiness for the big stage. Some experts argue that injuries and a lack of standout performances in college contributed to Levis falling to the second round of the draft.
Similarly, Malik Willis, who once held promise as a potential first-round pick, experienced a surprising slide in the draft. Despite being drafted in the third round, Willis has shown glimpses of potential, prompting speculation about his future role in the Titans' offense.

Quarterback Controversy: Levis vs. Willis
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As the Titans' training camp unfolds, the focus has shifted to the ongoing battle between Willis and Levis for the backup quarterback position. With Ryan Tannehill's injury history in mind, the team faces the challenge of determining who could step up and lead the offense in his absence. While both quarterbacks have shown flashes of talent, they each possess distinct characteristics that could influence the Titans' decision.

Will Levis: The Versatile Prospect
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Will Levis brings a unique skill set to the quarterback position. He's demonstrated the ability to make off-platform throws, reminiscent of elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes. This adaptability is crucial in today's NFL, where improvisation and creativity can make all the difference. However, Levis' decision-making and consistency have come under scrutiny, highlighting the learning curve he must navigate as he transitions to the professional level.

Malik Willis: The Dual-Threat Dynamo
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On the other hand, Malik Willis brings dual-threat capabilities to the table. His athleticism and dynamic playmaking ability give him the potential to thrive in modern NFL offenses that emphasize mobility and versatility. During his time at Liberty University, Willis showcased his aptitude for executing read-option plays, a skill that could complement the Titans' run-centric offense led by Derrick Henry. Despite some struggles, his potential to develop into a valuable asset for the Titans remains evident.

Future Prospects and Team Strategy
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The Titans' quarterback situation raises broader questions about the team's strategy and long-term vision. With the departure of key players and the uncertainties surrounding the health and performance of their current roster, the Titans find themselves at a crossroads. The decision to draft Will Levis in the second round suggests that the team's new leadership is investing in his development and potential to lead the franchise in the future.
However, the presence of Malik Willis on the depth chart cannot be ignored. While his performance last season was less than stellar, it's important to consider the limited sample size and the potential for growth with experience. The team must carefully weigh the short-term benefits of having an experienced backup in Levis against the long-term potential of developing Willis into a formidable quarterback.

The Tennessee Titans' quarterback dilemma is a multifaceted puzzle that encompasses the team's aspirations, player potential, and long-term goals. While Ryan Tannehill remains the current face of the franchise, the emergence of Malik Willis and the presence of Will Levis add layers of complexity to the team's quarterback situation. As the season unfolds, fans and analysts alike will be watching closely to see how the Titans navigate these uncharted waters, ultimately determining the path they will take to secure their place in the NFL hierarchy.

Julian Martinez: [00:00:05] We talked last week about the chaotic quarterback situation in San Francisco, but a QB situation that deserves just as much attention is the one going on in Tennessee with the Titans. Last season, the Titans selected Malik Willis out of Liberty, but seemingly he didn't do enough to inspire hope as a future quarterback for Tennessee. So this season with Will Levis on the board, the Titans jumped at the opportunity. Seemingly, Ryan Tannehill is safe for now. But how would you organize this depth chart with two young quarterbacks on the roster? Kyle? [00:00:35][30.1]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:00:36] It sounds like they're out on Malik Willis at this point, but also Will Levis hasn't been playing very good in camp. So I guess at this point, if and when you decide to replace Ryan Tannehill, I guess you would go Tannehill, Levis, Malik Willis If you're going to keep three quarterbacks on the depth chart because you just traded up for Will Levis at the top of the second round of the draft. Your new general manager who didn't select Malik Willis, is clearly prioritizing Levis and his development at this point. So I think if Malik Willis is still on the roster for the Titans, he's probably has that third quarterback emergency option at this point. But God, I can't believe I'm saying this, but they would be so much better off with Ryan Tannehill being healthy for 17 games. And that's just a disgusting sentence to say. Just absolutely disgusting that this is what Ryan Tannehill purgatory has led to for the Titans. [00:01:29][53.1]
Julian Martinez: [00:01:30] Let me ask what changed? Because last year when we talked about Will Levis specifically when to talk about the Giants, and should they tank and look for a future quarterback? You said exactly. They should not be focusing on the W's and L's aside from if they are Will and Levis. Is it the coffee with the Mayo combination? Or why are you so out on Levis these days? [00:01:51][21.6]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:01:52] I'm not necessarily out on Levis as the quarterback prospect. It just seems like he's not the guy that people thought he was going to be. That was part of that. The fact that he only played six games in college last year with Kentucky because he got hurt. Yes, that's probably part of the equation. If people are wondering why he ended up falling to the second round of the draft, probably injuries had a little bit to do some of that. I didn't think that Anthony Richardson would be drafted ahead of them. Nonetheless, so far ahead of him in the draft because everyone loves a safe vanilla quarterback option, right? Everyone loves the Mac Jones option in the NFL draft, the safe quarterback. That's not going to wow you away. Someone's going to think, hey, we can bring out his physical gifts, which I don't want to like disrespect. Will, Levis will Levis has a lot of physical gifts at the quarterback position. It's just he's not that can't miss quarterbacking prospect. And I think part of that is probably just getting more information. Our friend Blake Jude, who is a big NFL draft guy, he scouts people all over the board. He was telling me back in March, he's like a he's a Kentucky guy. He loves Will Levis and he loves the Kentucky Wildcats. At the same time, he's saying like the draft board is Stroud and Bryce Young are these top top prospects Anthony Richardson is a close third then there's a drop off to Will Levis. He was saying basically like look someone's going to take a chance on Anthony Richardson, but he saw Richardson as kind of like a bottom of the first round grade. And Will Levis is kind of that second round grade that was going to get picked in the first round because of a quarterback premium. So to answer your question, I think it's just people have said Levis hasn't been doing great in camp so far. And based on a year ago when it was like the Giants should be trying to go get Will Levis with the fifth or sixth take in the NFL draft, seems like now that people have done the scouting, they realize maybe we were jumping the gun a little bit on Will Levis. [00:03:45][112.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:03:46] I think part of the Will Levis hype was not only did he have the physical tools which you mentioned, but he was also playing well in the SEC because a comp that was getting thrown out there for him was Josh Allen. And Josh Allen, as we know, relatively struggled in the Mountain West. So if you have a guy with Josh Allen's tools that's actually having a little bit of success in the SEC, that's a guy that certainly a desirable prospect. Now you did mention he struggled in camp. There's been some mixed reporting on that because I have seen one of the days at camp he threw five touchdowns. So he's not completely busting in camp and he's certainly playing well. But it's a little hit and miss, as is should be expected with most rookies now when we turn our attention to Malik Willis. So he's had a year in this system. He's had a year to marinate and what the Titans want to do. And I think that he brings some unique things to this Titans quarterback situation, some of which we actually saw in the preseason game. So both these guys played. Ryan Tannehill didn't play at all. They essentially traded off drives. Willis would go in one drive, Levis the next, and I don't think anyone really stole the job based off their performance. But a lot of the literature out there suggests that Malik Willis had a better day. Now he had a rushing touchdown the Titans score ten points when he was in the game. They only scored seven points when Will Levis was in the game. Well, the touchdown that they scored with Malik Willis in there was a nice read option thing. And that is kind of the unique thing that Willis does bring to the Titans offense that obviously Levis just can't do. And is that more to what the Titans want to do? Because we know that this Titans offense is strictly based off the run game. It runs through Derrick Henry. So a quarterback that complements Derrick Henry, is that more desirable? What do you think the. [00:05:36][110.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:05:36] Titans are deciding? The answer is kind of no to that because like they tried Malik Willis last year and it was a little bit of a catastrophe, right? Like Willis. [00:05:45][8.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:05:45] I'm sorry, to cut you off. But you look at the depth chart though, and Malik Will is still is two right now and he started. [00:05:51][5.4]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:05:51] Oh yeah yeah no absolutely yeah absolutely Like I am I am the person who says over and over again, these are not large enough sample sizes to decide how good or bad these quarterbacks are. You need more than two and a half games to know how good a quarterback is. We have no idea how good Malik Willis is as an NFL quarterback. We have no idea how good Will Levis is as an NFL quarterback. They just haven't had the sample size to be able to figure it out. I would have assumed that the Titans would have prioritized Will Levis because of what the new general manager just invested in him. And by the way, just to follow up, Blake Jude had Will Levis as an 88 grade, which is in that range of like 24 to 40 overall quarterback prospects. So again, like bottom of the first round, top of the second round type of draft grade this year. [00:06:38][46.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:06:38] Do you have to have Blake's grade on Willis the previous year? [00:06:41][2.6]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:41] Malik Willis I could probably find it, but it's going to it's going to take me a second. But Malik Willis, I know, I know. He got picked in the third round, but weren't people surprised when he ended up sliding in the draft a little bit, Yeah. [00:06:53][11.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:06:54] There was a lot of talk about Willis being a first round pick last year, and that may have been because last year was widely considered a weak QB draft. Obviously we only saw Kenny Pickett go as the only quarterback selected in that first round and Desmond Ridder even got selected above Malik Willis last year. A lot of people were taken aback when they saw him slide, but they were not completely surprised. Whenever it was, the Titans selected them because their quarterback situation. Ryan Tannehill We probably seen the best days of Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, albeit like you said, I still think that Tannehill gives them their best option to win right now. At this point, if you go back to even the game last year or so against Kansas City, most Titans fans would tell you if Tannehill was healthy for that game, they think they would have won that game. But unfortunately when it came down to it, Malik WIllis just couldn't make enough throws. And I go to that preseason game yesterday, he was making some throws. That's one thing I can say from watching him in that game. He was making some throws. He had a little bit more touch on the ball. His interception came on a bad overthrow but bounced off the tight-ends hands. I think he thought he was throwing the shack at that moment, but he looked a little bit better than Malik Willis I saw a year ago. [00:08:09][75.7]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:08:10] At least you're going to like this. I just went back to find Blake. Dude's 2021 pre-draft grades. This is right before the NFL draft. And so for 2022, he had Will Levis. If you want the exact estimations, it was, well, Levis tied for 24th with an 88 grade. And in the 2021 class, he had Malik Willis tied for 24th with an 88 draft grade. So he had them as the same tier of quarterback prospects, which was bottom of the first round, top of the second round. You know, he had Malik Willis as his number two quarterback in that class, actually behind Matt Corral. He had Matt Corral one Willis too, Kenny Pickett, three in that 2021 draft class. So he kind of sees Will Levis and Malik Willis as the same tier of prospects when they were coming out of the draft. And I guess that for the sake of the Titans that means they have a two and a three quarterback that are in some respects better than most teams depth charts in terms of like their future potential. It's just at some point they're going to pick between the two quarterbacks and I would assume that they drafted Will Levis with the intention of him becoming the future quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, considering they they traded up to the top of the second round in order to select him as opposed to waiting till the third round on Malik Willis, combined with the fact that it was just one year ago that they picked Malik Willis and then a year later with a new general manager, they ended up going ahead and drafting Will Levis. So I assume they're going to prioritize. Well, Levis is development, but like you said, I mean, Willis is the number two on the depth chart right now. So maybe this is a developmental project for Levis of sorts. [00:09:49][99.1]
Julian Martinez: [00:09:50] Now, Levis did make some nice throws in the game yesterday. It just seems like he's going to have to get used to decision making at the NFL level. One thing that I did find interesting watching the game against the Bears is that. Was able to make some unique off platform throws, which we know how that kind of translate. You look at a guy like Mahomes who makes a career off of platform throws. We know that that's kind of where the trend is going. Can you throw when things break down in the pocket? It seemed like Malik Willis, the one thing that he lacked yesterday was a pocket awareness because he fumbled twice in the game. He had a defender literally sneak up behind him and pick his pocket and knock the ball out, which a fumble hurts you more than interceptions at the end of the day. The interception sometimes could be turned into a long punt but a fumble. Other team gets the ball right there and then so that's the last thing you want to deal with. And he probably takes a little bit more sacks. Then you're like. Now, one thing that's for sure is both Titans quarterbacks can't last. If the Titans offensive line is going to be as bad as it was yesterday, multiple sacks against both Levis and Willis. And we know that's not exactly been a strength of the team. And one more question I'm going to ask you on this one is if I'm putting you Mike Vrabel's shoes and Tannehill, who is not a model of health, does get injured. Which of the guys here do you trust to go out there and win you a game right now? [00:11:12][82.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:11:13] I have no idea. Just not even a clue which one it would be because I don't. [00:11:17][4.5]
Julian Martinez: [00:11:17] Even want to throw the best. [00:11:18][0.6]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:11:18] Guess. No, because it would be doing a disservice to all of these wonderful listeners out here. Like Blake Jude has them both graded as the same type of quarterback grade the Titans list. Malik Willis is second on the depth chart over Levis. I would have assumed they would have put Levis ahead of Willis, given that, you know, they drafted Malik Willis a year ago and then immediately drafted another quarterback a year later. So I have no idea who gives them a better chance to win. And I mean, you were talking about the offensive line with the Titans. I know it's the first time that we've said this in a while, but this Titans team is not really built to win. This Titans team has a lot of holes in a lot of different places. And granted, I think they could put together a top ten defense with health permitting, which is always a big thing with the Titans if health permitting, because we've had injuries to Jeffery Simmons in the past couple of years and you've had injuries as among pass rushers, the Bud Dupree contract. [00:12:10][52.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:12:11] Oh my gosh [00:12:12][0.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:12:13] Would be better. But he had a bounce back year. So, you know, it's looking a little bit better than it was before. [00:12:19][5.9]
Julian Martinez: [00:12:19] But you also want to hope the wide receiver health is there for them because they were really banged up at that position last year. Bobby Trees and Treylon Burks. [00:12:27][7.9]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:12:28] They signed DeAndre Hopkins, which it's a number one receiver, but it's kind of the same strategy they've been trying the last three years, which is like the Colts quarterback model of wide receivers, which is we can squeeze a little bit left out of Julio Jones, we can squeeze a little bit left out of Robert Woods. We can squeeze a little bit left out of DeAndre Hopkins. [00:12:46][18.4]
Julian Martinez: [00:12:47] Hasn't been quite as successful though, when you consider that. Yeah, they don't have a great track record of aging wide receivers going to their team. Randy Moss ending his career there. Andre Johnson the same, yeah. DeAndre Hopkins looking at you going over there, that's an interesting decision, especially if the younger quarterbacks have to take a crack at snaps this season. [00:13:09][21.6]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:13:10] It's also going to be interesting because the Titans have paid almost all of Tannehill is guaranteed money after the end of the season. They would actually save $18 million by just cutting Ryan Tannehill at the end of next season. So they have an option at the end of this year to officially kick start the future. And like you asked me earlier, I feel no better or worse about Willis or Levis because obviously neither of them have played in the NFL yet, but they now have a decision to make between Levis and Willis. Yeah, I mean, Willis has played and it wasn't great, but it was only three and a half games and one of them. Didn't Joshua Dobbs end up playing the last game of the season for the Titans, too? So the Titans had, circumstances permitting at the end of last season, just ravaged with injuries. Obviously, Taylor Lewan isn't with them anymore. I guess the Titans team isn't built to win at this point. There's a reason they fired their general manager and there's a reason that they're kind of picked well behind the Jaguars in a terrible, terrible, terrible AFC South. Maybe this is a rebuilding phase for the Tennessee Titans. Maybe the AJ Brown trade unintentionally kicked off a rebuild for the Titans. Or maybe Derrick Henry will just rush for like 1600 yards. And it doesn't matter who plays the quarterback position for the Titans, who knows? But the end of this year they do have an option to move off of Tannehill. It might be a more financially sound decision to finally get out of Ryan Tannehill purgatory, which will then open them up to a new kind of purgatory, which is a quarterback battle between two quarterbacks, neither of which we know are actually a future NFL quarterback. [00:14:44][94.2]
Julian Martinez: [00:14:45] Tennessee Titans fans. Who do you think should be the number two quarterback on this team's depth chart? Should it be Malik Worth? Should be. Will Levis like to hear your thoughts in the comments section? We it like in the video subscribe to the channel. Follow us on all our social medias from Juju and Kyle Stay safe, happy and healthy. We will see you next time. [00:14:45][0.0]
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