The Tennessee Titans entered a new era in franchise history when they selected quarterback Will Levis with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
While the Titans still had Ryan Tannehill on the roster, it was clear that Levis would eventually get the opportunity to replace him. After starting nine games last season, Tannehill went unsigned, paving the way for Levis to take over.
That's part of the reason why Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon named Levis the Titans' most promising building block.
"Whether you're personally sold on Will Levis is a fair question. Tennessee, though, has already shown it believes he'll develop into the cornerstone of this offense. Otherwise, the team wouldn't have committed the money to Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd during the offseason," Kenyon writes.
The Titans did invest a lot of money in the offense this past season. Adding center Lloyd Cushenberry III gives the offensive line an anchor to work with, and receivers Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd give Levis experienced targets to pass to in the offense.
Common strategies among teams are to draft a quarterback so they don't have to pay more than a rookie contract to that player, and then spend the rest of the cap space elsewhere. That's what the Titans are doing and they have three years left on Levis' deal. That should give them enough of an evaluation period to see if Levis is worth keeping long-term or finding someone new.
However, Levis is still being evaluated season-by-season, and some may even say week-by-week. The Titans have also shown a level of urgency with these moves, which could mean that they want to win sooner rather than later. By making these signings, it not only helps Levis but makes it easier to put the blame on him if things go awry.
If Levis cannot find a way to succeed with this supporting cast within at least a year or two, it will become clear to the Titans that he is not the franchise quarterback they thought he could be, and Tennessee should go searching for someone else.
