Titans have a lot riding on Will Levis beyond his first start

But Sunday’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons is about more than just Tennessee being the fifth team to start a rookie QB this season — it’s about Levis’ audition for the starting job next season and the direction the franchise is heading in 2024 and beyond.

Tennessee already knows what kind of QB Malik Willis is. The 2022 third-round draft choice of former general manager Jon Robinson has career completion percentage of 53 and averaged 92 yards passing per start with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. 

Not much to build a future around. But Levis at least symbolizes hope.

The 24-year-old rookie has a big arm, a compact release, good pocket awareness and he is a strong deep-ball thrower. He’s also the prototypical size of a starting QB in the NFL (6-foot-3, 231 pounds).

Tennessee traded third-round picks in 2023 and 2024 to move up to the top of the second round to acquire Levis, so clearly the front office believes in him. 

But if they’re wrong, they need to know sooner rather than later with a 2024 draft class that’s loaded with QBs and the Titans potentially picking in the top five or top 10.

Per Tankathon, Tennessee currently has the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft. Six of the team’s final 11 games are against opponents with a winning record, and the Titans remaining strength of schedule ranks in the top half of the league (their final 11 opponents have a combined 39-32 record).

So, it’s highly probable — especially if key players Derrick Henry, Denico Autry and DeAndre Hopkins are traded before next week — that the Titans could have a premium first-round pick.

Southern Cal's Caleb Williams is likely out of the equation, but the Titans must decide if they’ve seen enough of Levis to convince them not to go all-in on North Carolina's Drake Maye or consider drafting Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix, Michigan's J.J. McCarthy or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.