The first game of the 2023 preseason is almost here, as the Tennessee Titans are set to take on the Chicago Bears in preseason Week 1on Saturday.
Even though you shouldn’t get your hopes up about seeing the real big names on the team, it’s still a fantastic opportunity to see how the Titans measure up against a different set of players than they’ve been practicing against.
This will also be the very first time that several players on the team get to wear an actual NFL uniform while playing inside an NFL stadium.
Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that this will undoubtedly be as far as some of these rookies get in their NFL careers, so they must cherish these moments while they’re here, even if their chances of making the team seem bleak.
Nevertheless, the opportunity for a lot of these guys is right there for the taking if they’re willing to make the most of it. While the final score won’t really matter, these next few weeks are essentially a public audition for countless players across 32 teams.
When it comes to the Titans, they have several question marks of their own that they hope to solve before the start of the regular season.
This article is going to discuss six specific things that we’ll be watching out for once Tennessee takes the field. Let’s jump right into it.
Which young QB looks better?
This is undoubtedly going be the thing that everyone focuses on the most — and rightfully so, because if everything goes according to plan, either Will Levis or Malik Willis will be the future of this franchise as soon as 2024.
If I had to guess, I would say Willis will start the first half, with Levis taking over after halftime, and next week they’ll switch with Levis starting and Willis being the initial backup.
Whichever young signal-caller looks better after those two games will likely be given the chance to solidify their spot as the backup quarterback in the final preseason game, where it will officially be their job to lose.
While these games should be taken with a grain of salt in the grand scheme of things, these performances will allow us to gauge just how much Willis has improved since last year and how much Levis has developed thus far.
Ideally, you want to see both quarterbacks perform well enough to the point where you’re willing to keep all three quarterbacks on the roster going forward.
This would allow both Levis and Willis to continue developing without the immediate pressure of having to elevate anybody but themselves, which would inevitably set up a massive battle for the starting job in 2024.
For now, let’s just hope Willis and Levis are able to show the types of flashes that made both quarterbacks intriguing prospects in the first place.
How does the first-team O-Line perform?
First off, we need to see which of the projected starting offensive linemen suit up in the first place.
But considering the starting group hasn’t exactly been given rave reviews over the last few weeks, I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll see at least multiple members of the starting five for a little bit.
More importantly, we’ll get a better idea as to whether the offensive line’s recent struggles during camp have been more about the talent of the Titans’ defensive line or if there’s a real cause for concern in that area.
The Bears have announced that most of some of their starters will play, so this will be a good test for the starting linemen who do suit up.
I’m also personally very curious to see how much Nicholas Petit-Frere plays, not only in preseason Week 1 but throughout the preseason.
I’ve seen some fans mention how he doesn’t need to play at all since he’s going to be suspended for the first six weeks regardless, but I couldn’t disagree more with that notion.
Once the preseason is over, NPF will be going away for over a month. This means he won’t be allowed to practice with the team, let alone be in the building.
These next few weeks are crucial for him because it’s going be the only live reps that NPF gets for the foreseeable future. He must take advantage of them before he goes away for six weeks.
It also bears watching how his backups perform since they’re the ones who are competing for the vacant starting job during Petit-Frere’s absence.
As of right now, it appears as if it’s Chris Hubbard’s job to lose, but that can easily start to change if any of the young tackles seize the opportunity that’s in front of them. Keep an eye on John Ojukwu, Jaelyn Duncan and Zack Johnson, in particular.
Which kicker improves their chances of winning the job?
By all accounts, both Caleb Shudak and Trey Wolff have had fantastic training camps, with both kickers remaining consistent in practice.
But these kicks during the game will matter so much more than anything they’ve done over the past few weeks.
According to Jim Wyatt, Shudak has made 90.9 percent of his kicks (40-of-44), while Wolff has made 90.1 percent of his field goal attempts (46-of-51) through 10 training camp practices.
Regardless of how irrelevant the final score actually is, the pressure will undoubtedly be on whenever these kickers trot on the field because they’re kicking for their job more than anything else right now.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Titans ultimately decide to split up the work throughout the game. If I had to guess, Tennessee will alternate between each attempt, but they could also allow Wolff and Shudak to have their own half.
How do the rookies look?
Outside of Levis, I think Peter Skoronski is the rookie that Titans fans are most excited to watch. The Northwestern product has been as advertised throughout camp, often receiving praise from his teammates and coaches.
The next step is to see if that hype translates to the preseason games now that he’ll be allowed to hit someone in a different uniform for the first time in months.
Tyjae Spears is another young player who should be exciting to watch, especially since he was spectacular one of the last times we saw him on a football field in the Cotton Bowl.
Spears has since been one of the most talked about rookies who is seemingly on track for a pretty big role within the offense if he can finish the preseason strong. Up until now, he’s been relatively quiet in training camp.
We’ve already mentioned Duncan and Levis, and then there’s tight end Josh Whyle and wide receiver Colton Dowell among the draft picks expected to make their debuts.
These next three games are especially important for the undrafted guys, who will also be competing for depth and special teams roles. This will be their biggest opportunity to prove that they’re good enough to play in the NFL.
You can expect to see a lot of reps from the rookies drafted on Day 3 or later, not only Saturday, but for the duration of the preseason.
Who stands out in battle for LB2?
The battle for the second inside linebacker job is probably one of the best storylines going on in camp because it’s legitimately one of the few starting jobs that’s truly up in the air.
Monty Rice is a former third-round pick who has struggled to stay on the field more than anything else. Meanwhile, Jack Gibbens, was someone who we saw do well in last year’s preseason and wondered how well that would translate to the real thing. By season’s end, we got to see that his potential was real.
Over the last five weeks of the 2022 season, Gibbens finished the year with an impressive run-defense grade of 73.7, per Pro Football Focus. As for Monty Rice, he posted a slightly better mark of 73.8, although he did have a much larger sample size (10 games) than Gibbens.
The Minnesota product appears to have the cerebral edge on the field, but Rice is easily the more athletically fluid mover. Now that Gibbens is more experienced and Rice is finally healthy, it will be interesting to see how this battle plays out.
Gibbens was listed as the starter in the unofficial depth chart, but that can easily change over the coming weeks.
How does Terrell Williams handle his head-coaching duties?
This one won’t be measured by the scoreboard, but more so by how Terell Williams does situationally.
Things such as clock management, knowing when to be aggressive, throwing the challenge flag, etc., is what you really want to see Williams do well at.
Obviously, you want to see T-Will lead his team to victory, but there’s no real game-planning going on at the moment, so it’s most important to see how he responds to the adversity that arises throughout a professional football game.
Those are the types of things potential employers will be looking out for when evaluating this particular performance.
