There’s an interesting storyline brewing that is starting to garner some real attention from those who are watching the Tennessee Titans closely this offseason.
Second-year quarterback Malik Willis has reportedly been looking much more decisive and comfortable than he did all of last year.
Now, to be fair, that’s not exactly a difficult threshold to surpass considering how awful Willis looked last season. However, the real interesting part is that those on the ground at practice believe Willis has looked better than 2023 second-round pick and fellow signal-caller, Will Levis.
Here’s a snippet from Jim Wyatt of Titans Online on the young quarterbacks.
Quarterback Malik Willis ended his offseason on a high note. Willis connected with Kinsey and Whyle on passes in an early unscripted period before throwing a touchdown pass to receiver Tre’Shaun Harrison, who made a nice catch on a ball that was tipped by defensive back Alonzo Davis. Willis also connected with Kinsey and tight end Alize Mack for late practice touchdowns. I must say Willis impressed me this offseason – he’s improved from a year ago.
Quarterback Will Levis had some bad luck, but he also made some mistakes that resulted in balls being intercepted. Levis saw two of his passes go through the hands of receivers Reggie Roberson Jr. and Mack (the pass was high). But later, a deflected pass was intercepted, along with another that was also batted at the line of scrimmage.
Fellow Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky directly noted that Willis has looked better than Levis this offseason, although he doesn’t believe there’s a huge gap.
The overall gap between Levis and Willis in what we’ve seen so far has not been significant. I wouldn’t make a lot of that either. And it really isn’t going to matter.
Levis is going to be the second quarterback behind Tannehill barring injuries. He does need a moment to arrive in camp, however, that allows Vrabel, Tim Kelly and Charles London to flip him into that second position on merit rather than on draft status, potential and planning. Since neither of the two has been great so far so they maintain the status quo as the coaches can’t simply anoint a guy who’s not outplayed the guy ahead of him.
So Levis will have to uncomplicate that.
Sure, Willis has played better than he did as a rookie, but that’s an awfully low bar. There are still moments of indecision, slow decisions that are frustrating. But he is processing faster, you just wonder if that will translate to a game situation.
Thought Malik Willis had a really strong day of practice today. On the money in the red zone and looked like he was having a lot of fun. #Titans
— Sam Phalen (@Sam_Phalen) June 14, 2023
In an ideal world, both Willis and Levis prove they’re capable of being franchise quarterbacks, giving Tennessee a fantastic problem to have.
That would mean the Titans can pick the one they believe in more to lead the franchise for the foreseeable future, while the other could then be traded away for a decent return.
It’s way too early to do any type of wild declaration like Willis will be better or even beat out Levis for the No. 2 job this year, but it’s nice to see that the Liberty product isn’t going down without a fight.
