NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans first-year head coach Brian Callahan can’t wait to see just how much Will Levis has improved when the former University of Kentucky quarterback’s second NFL season kicks off next month.
The encouraging signs aren’t how the No. 33 overall pick of the 2023 draft throws the ball. As soon as he took over as Tennessee’s starter midway through his rookie season, he began showing off a strong arm that allows him to throw deep all over the field.
What has Callahan excited is Levis’ consistency with footwork, timing and accuracy that he has shown in preseason practices. Or in other words, the mundane basics of football.
“That maybe doesn’t look as exciting to the world when you watch him practice, but really presents a smart quarterback that’s playing efficient, which is a huge part of where we were trying to make improvement,” Callahan, the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator the past five seasons, said Wednesday.
Titans general manager Ran Carthon and the front office worked in the offseason to surround Levis with as much talent as possible. They signed receivers Tyler Boyd and Calvin Ridley and center Lloyd Cushenberry III, and they drafted a new left tackle, JC Latham from the University of Alabama, to better protect Levis.
Callahan also brought in his father Bill, a former NFL head coach and veteran assistant, to coach the offensive line after Tennessee gave up 64 sacks last season. Levis took 28 of those in his nine starts.
Knowing what Callahan can do with any quarterback is why Boyd decided to sign with Tennessee, joining a receivers group headed up by five-time Pro Bowl selection DeAndre Hopkins. Boyd saw what Callahan did with quarterback Jake Browning in Cincinnati last season after Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury.
Now it’s fine-tuning timing with Levis and that strong arm for Callahan’s QB-friendly offense. Boyd expects Levis to flourish.
“Once you get the timing down pat, knowing the coverage and knowing where to go specifically when we call the plays, I mean, I think he going to be among the top 10” quarterbacks, Boyd said.
Levis took over behind center last Oct. 29 and went 3-6 replacing Ryan Tannehill. From that point to season’s end, he threw 32 passes of at least 20 yards or longer. That ranked him seventh in the NFL among all quarterbacks in that span and second only to fellow rookie C.J. Stroud, who had 41 such passes for the Houston Texans.
The 6-foot-4, 229-pound Levis also averaged 12.13 yards per completion, fourth among qualifying quarterbacks. Only the San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy (13.9), Stroud (12.88) and the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford (12.16) were better. Levis finished the season having passed for 1,808 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
Levis certainly has put in the work. Videos on social media of him show working with Ridley and others between the end of Tennessee’s offseason program in early June and the start of training camp in late July.
Callahan plans to have Levis start the preseason finale Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, along with many of Tennessee’s other first-string players, to prepare for the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears. Levis did not play in last Saturday night’s home win over the Seattle Seahawks in the second week of the preseason after consecutive days of joint practices between the teams in Nashville.
He should have Boyd available with the veteran returning to practice after the Titans were cautious as the receiver dealt with a bruised foot last week. Boyd has been an invaluable resource in knowing this offense so well. Levis also might get Hopkins, sidelined early by an injured knee, back for the opener.
As for his own work, Levis said he has been focusing on making sure to go through his progressions and take what’s available.
“I think I’ve done a better job of just taking something if it’s open on the first go-around,” Levis said, “and I might think based on how the play’s developing that that bigger shot might be open as well.”