When Will Levis entered the 2023 NFL draft out of Kentucky, everyone knew about his ridiculous arm strength. Levis also had size (6-foot-4, 229) and athleticism on his side.
The knocks on Levis were his accuracy, footwork and turnovers, among other things. That’s likely what kept Levis from going in the first round, with the Tennessee Titans happily selecting him with the first pick of the second round.
If you look at Levis’s strengths and weaknesses, they resemble those of one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks when he came out of college: Buffalo star Josh Allen.
Allen entered the 2018 NFL draft out of Wyoming; he was a career 56% passer with a 2-1 TD/INT ratio. But Allen went inside the top 10 of the draft and has since erased many of those concerns, as he’s now one of the NFL’s best players.
Could Levis be on a similar trajectory?
One longtime NFL writer thinks so. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports visited Titans’ training camp this week and wrote the following on Levis:
That quarterback is Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. Like Allen, Levis didn’t have big-time completion numbers and accuracy was something many scouts said would hold him back. Like Allen, I thought he would get past it.
Prisco wasn’t done.
I see a similar trajectory for Levis as Allen. Yes, that’s high praise, but I believe that’s where he is headed.
That’s indeed some lofty expectations. The Titans went all-in on Levis this offseason. They hired Brian Callahan as head coach because of his reputation with quarterbacks. Tennessee beefed up the offensive line, using a top-10 selection on an offensive lineman for the second consecutive season and signing one of the NFL’s best centers. The Titans also added weapons for Levis: Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd.
The Titans should be much better offensively in 2024 with a completely different identity. Gone are head coach Mike Vrabel and his conservative philosophy. Also gone are franchise legend Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill.
It’s a new day for Tennessee and Levis is the franchise’s new face.