This Tennessee Titans offseason has been headlined by several key additions to the roster, and fans should be filled with anticipation as the team heads toward training camp.
Whether we're talking the offensive or defensive side, Tennessee made it a point to load up en route to a division title run, and hopefully even more.
If they're going to take home the AFC South crown, that means second-year quarterback Will Levis will have taken advantage of all the added weaponry around him him, and the optimism has reigned supreme this offseason, for the most part.
Bleacher Report's David Kenyon isn't ready to buy into a big step for Levis in Year 2, though. In a recent piece, he called Levis the Titans' biggest bust heading into training camp.
Wrote Kenyon:
"I greatly respect the team's effort to put a better supporting cast around Will Levis, who's approaching his first year as the full-time starter. I'm simply not sold on him. Inefficiency and general inconsistency plagued Levis both in college and during his debut season with the Titans, and bringing in Ridley and Tyler Boyd—while admirable—doesn't solve Levis' week-to-week differences."
Why we should believe the Will Levis hype in 2024
Look, Levis threw four of his eight touchdowns in just one game as a rookie. It's understandable to put the "inconsistent" label on him. However, let's also be honest with ourselves. The Titans' offensive coordinator, Tim Kelly, is now the tight ends coach with the New York Giants. The only reason he ever had any business being an offensive coordinator was thanks to Deshaun Watson's 2020 season where Kelly ws the OC back in Houston.
Now? Kelly is coaching Daniel Bellinger and company in New York. Oh, how the tides have turned.
Now, Brian Callahan plans to call the plays in Tennessee after having spent some good seasons in Cincinnati with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and new Titans receiver Tyler Boyd. Callahan's experience and knowledge of the game should be reason enough to believe Levis has a higher shot at success this year.
But, of course Levis now has a vast array of talent around him in newcomers like Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard and of course, Boyd. They join DeAndre Hopkins, Tyjae Spears and Chigoziem Okonkwo, giving Levis a fairly impressive group to work with.
Now, let's quickly look at one more reason to believe, and it comes by way of a key statistic.
Levis was tied for the fourth-best interception percentage in all of football, last season, at just 1.6 percent. He was tied alongside Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow, while finishing with a better number than Jordan Love, Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, among several others.
One thing you can't say about Levis is that he turns the ball over at a high rate, because he, in fact, does not.
If you put a great supporting cast around him, with an added bonus of a much more qualified offensive mind at the helm, plus a year of experience under Levis' belt, you can assume he's in position for a whole lot more success in just a year's time.
Levis might be called a bust by some, but Titans fans have plenty of reason to believe he's going to come out of 2024 having surprised his critics.