One thing Will Levis needs to change to increase his odds of success with the Titans

The Tennessee Titans selected Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis with the No. 33 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.  Tennessee traded up with the Arizona Cardinals to land Levis.  Levis was viewed by many draft analysts as a potential top-10 selection, but he slid to the second round in part because of a toe […]

Zach Ragan Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Titans selected Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis with the No. 33 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Tennessee traded up with the Arizona Cardinals to land Levis. 

Levis was viewed by many draft analysts as a potential top-10 selection, but he slid to the second round in part because of a toe injury that was concerning for some NFL teams. 

The Levis pick wasn't very popular with the majority of Titans fans that shared their feelings on social media. 

That's likely because there's a lot of crossover between the Titans and the Tennessee Vols fan bases. And Vols fans saw the less-than-inspiring performance that Levis gave against Tennessee's porous pass defense last season (Levis passed for 98 yards, 0 touchdowns, and three interceptions against the Vols' much-maligned defense). 

Levis's decision-making combined with his polarizing personality has plenty of NFL fans believing the former Kentucky quarterback will be a bust in the NFL. 

It's obviously far too early to know if that will be the case for Levis or not. It's certainly possible he's a bust, but it's also possible he's a future Pro Bowler. Only time will tell (as is the case with every quarterback selected this week…it's an inexact science). 

There is one thing, however, that Levis can do that might help him become a franchise quarterback in Nashville. 

The biggest concern I have from watching Levis in college is that he seems too "robotic" at times. There's no doubt that Levis has a great arm, prototypical size, and a solid grasp of NFL offenses. Those are all traits that are extremely attractive to NFL teams. 

As for the negatives, it comes down to his decision-making (some of which can be attributed to playing in multiple offenses at Kentucky and never getting comfortable) and his seemingly odd personality (the robotic factor). 

The personality aspect is the biggest thing that Levis needs to work on moving forward — I'm not even sure we've seen the real Will Levis yet. 

It feels like Levis is trying too hard to be "the perfect quarterback". Levis is coachable, he has a desire to improve, and he has all the tools. But he plays too uptight. 

If Levis can shed some of those robotic qualities and play loose and free, he might be able to take his game to the next level. For now, everything with Levis feels forced. Nothing feels genuine. Levis is essentially trying too hard to be the quarterback that he thinks teams want him to be, instead of just being himself. 

Kentucky's game against Tennessee last season provided a great example of Levis "trying too hard". After he threw his second interception of the day, Levis was so convinced that the call would be overturned that he wildly motioned for the offense to come back onto the field. After Levis brought the offense back onto the field, the call was quickly confirmed (it wasn't even that close of a call) which resulted in a frustrated Levis sauntering off the field. That moment felt like Levis trying to get his team fired up during a tough game, which is admirable. But it was the wrong time to do it and I wouldn't be surprised if that move generated a few eye rolls (that might be presumptive, but it's plausible) 

Levis needs to dig deep and find the real Will Levis. That's when he'll play at his best. Until Levis does that, I think he's going to have some struggles in the NFL. But if he can get comfortable — and that includes being comfortable with making mistakes and understanding that he's never going to play a perfect game — then maybe he'll develop into the quarterback that draft analysts like Mel Kiper believe he can be.