Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel provided Titans media with his list of things that quarterback Malik Willis needs to improve on during Monday's press conference.

Willis, a third-round draft pick by the Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft, was never supposed to be thrown into the fire this early. But with the ankle injury of Ryan Tannehill forcing him out of three full games this season, Willis has had to step up and lead Tennessee's offense a lot sooner than expected. Things have not gotten off to the best start.

While the Titans managed to defeat the Texans and take the Kansas City Chiefs into overtime during Willis' first two career starts, much of that was because of the dominant defense and run game surrounding him. With both that defense and the offensive line now depleted due to injuries, Willis taking over for Tannehill for the remainder of the regular season is going to be the true test of where he is at in his development.

Saturday against the Texans, Willis was 14/23 for 99 yards and two interceptions in a really inexcusable loss for the Titans. He also added 43 yards on the ground and his first career NFL touchdown.

Willis was definitely a bit better than the box score would show, but his play still left a lot to be desired. 14 points against the worst team in the NFL is not the effort Titans fans were hoping to see, and if Tennessee wants any chance of beating Jacksonville in Week 18 and making the playoffs, things will have to be cleaned up.

So what are the most important things for Willis to improve on in the immediate future? Here's what his head coach had to say when asked by the media on Monday:

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"Overall, just comfort level," Vrabel said about Willis' need to improve. "Being quicker with progression, not holding on, not waiting things out, knowing that you don't have all day, and being good operationally. He made some good decisions, some really good decisions to pull, when to give it, and when to extend"…"There were some things there that were good, but then obviously I just want him to continue to progress."

Vrabel noticed what every objective viewer of the game also noticed. There was a lot of good in Willis' performance that gives hope for the future, but not enough consistency to produce tangible results.

He made decisive and correct reads on RPOs and executed his throws. He had some really good play fakes to bluff play-action and give Derrick Henry space to run. That's Willis athleticism and skillset opening things up for the offense.

The good news about Vrabel's list of improvement is that all of the things listed are mental barriers, and you can be coached out of mental barriers. Progressions, pocket presence, and operations often get developed with more reps and more coaching. Titans fans can take solace in the fact that there are no doubts about Willis' physical talent or leadership.

The bad news? These are a lot of the same things that Tennessee was working on with Willis when he first got into the building.

All throughout training camp and the preseason, we heard about how Willis needed to "throw the ball" and trust separation. He was struggling with commanding the pocket and getting through his progressions quickly, relying too often on his speed and ability to escape pressure.

Over the course of the season, as we've seen Willis in small doses, there seemed to be a growing confidence within the building that Willis had taken big steps forward in those developmental areas. Heading into Saturday's game with Houston, I think a lot of the fanbase was excited to see what the rookie looks like after having nearly an entire season to learn and grow.

Unfortunately, the result was 14 points and a loss to the NFL's worst team with 99 passing yards. Not all of that is on Willis, and as I said earlier, the rookie played a lot better that his stats would suggest, but to still be dealing with many of the same issues after almost a full season of development can be concerning to an outsiders perspective.

Willis will have another chance to spark up some hope on Thursday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys this week.

Image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK