The Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback, Will Levis spoke to the media on Tuesday and said that when he was preparing for the 2023 NFL Draft, he compared himself to the other young quarterbacks in his class.
He went on to say that he has continued to do that now that he is in the NFL, and maybe Tennessee Titans fans should take a look at the comparison as well.
2023 has already been historic for rookie quarterbacks because, for the first time in league history, 11 rookie quarterbacks have started at least one game.
While this could be a class that produces a lot of NFL starters down the line, when we are talking about Will Levis comparing himself to his peers there are really 4 quarterbacks that come to mind, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Hendon Hooker.
Since Hooker won't play until next season, that leaves Will Levis facing off with the three first-round quarterbacks from this rookie class.
Every one of these rookies has had different situations and circumstances, but since Levis and the Tennessee Titans are about to face off against Young and the Panthers, it feels like an interesting time to look at what this quarterback class has done so far.
For the sake of fairness, I am going to do two different comparisons. The first is going to be a comparison of what these quarterbacks have done as a whole and the second will be what their numbers look like on a "per game" basis.
That way it is easier to see how guys like Anthony Richardson and Will Levis have looked despite not starting every game this season.
Will Levis vs his peers
C.J. Stroud: 10 games, 232 of 355 (62.8%), 2,962 yards, 17 TDs, 5 INTs
Bryce Young: 9 games, 198 of 319 (62.1%), 1,683 yards, 9 TDs, 8 INTs
Will Levis: 4 games, 73 of 124 (58.9%), 857 yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs
Anthony Richardson: 4 games, 50 of 84 (59.5%), 577 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Now this is what that looks like on a "per game" basis:
C.J. Stroud: 23 of 36, 296 yards, 1.7 TDs, 0.5 INTs
Bryce Young: 22 of 35, 187 yards, 1 TD, 0.9 INTs
Will Levis: 18 of 31, 214 yards, 1.5 TDs, 0.5 INTs
Anthony Richardson: 13 of 21, 144 yards, 0.8 TDs, 0.3 INTs
Looking at the evidence that we have right now, it is pretty clear that C.J. Stroud is going to run away with the title of best rookie quarterback this season. Now, everyone remembers that Mac Jones looked like the best quarterback in his class and now two years later he seems destined for the bench.
Things change quickly in the NFL and Stroud will almost certainly face some adversity this offseason with OC Bobby Slowik on track to get a head coaching job somewhere and without some key draft capital. However, he is currently the top dog here.
After that, you are going to have a hard time convincing me that Will Levis isn't the second-best quarterback in this class.
Passing yards, touchdown rate, and interception rate are all going in favor of Levis and he has done it with an offense based around a version of Derrick Henry who really only puts the Tennessee Titans in bad situations with his big play ability gone. So when the Titans go run-run-pass and then defenses get to pin their ears back against one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.
While Tennessee Titans fans should be hoping to lose as many games as possible to finish the season, Levis is going to have some chances to put up points down the stretch. The Titans just look like a different team at home and 5 of their last 7 games are in Nashville, which obviously bodes well for his chances to light up the box score.
With what should be the toughest stretch of the season behind Will Levis, it is going to be interesting to keep up with this and revisit these numbers after the season.
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