Two Reasons Why Will Levis Could Lead The NFL In Passing Yards

Will Levis is coming into his second season in the league after showing promise in eight games in 2023. The Tennessee Titans have done everything possible to put their young quarterback in a position to succeed this season. While it is a long shot, there are a couple of factors that could lead to Levis having the most passing yards in the NFL this season.

1. The Brian Callahan Effect

One of the steps the Titans took to set up Levis for success was hiring Brian Callahan as the new head coach. Callahan had great success as the offensive coordinator at Cincinnati with Joe Burrow at the helm of his offense. Burrow passed for over 4,600 yards in the two seasons where he started every game. Is Will Levis as good as Joe Burrow? Probably not. However, what Callahan did with another QB in Cincy should excite Titans fans.

When Burrow missed the season's last eight games in 2023, Jake Browning took over under center. The undrafted free agent out of Washington was not expected to be anything special, but Callahan put him in a position to make plays. The Bengals were on the verge of making the playoffs down the final stretch of the season with Browning as the starter.

In the seven games Browning started for Cincinnati, he passed for 1,868 yards. If you apply those numbers to a 17-game season, he would have finished the year with 4,536 yards. That would have been good enough for third in the NFL last season. Ahead of guys like Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes. If Will Levis can just beat out those numbers a little, he could find himself in the mix, or at the top, of the NFL passing leaders.

2. The Roster Is Built Around Him

Brian Callahan is bringing a new offensive style to the Music City. Gone are the days of running it between the tackles. Derrick Henry left for Baltimore in the offseason. The Titans will use a bit of a dual running back approach with former Cowboy Tony Pollard and second-year man out of Tulane Tyjae Spears. Neither back is a bell-cow back like Henry so Callahan will likely find ways to get both backs the ball in space.

Both Spears and Pollard have shown they are good pass-catching running backs. Pollard has three straight seasons of 300+ receiving yards under his belt, while Spears put up 385 receiving yards in his rookie season in 2023. Callahan will probably dial up plenty of screens and jet sweeps for the two backs and pad Levis' passing stats.

Tennessee made a lot of improvements to their receiver room in the offseason, as well. DeAndre Hopkins will miss at least a month to start the year, but there are two more veteran receivers on the team who can make an impact right away.

They brought in Tyler Boyd from the Bengals and Calvin Ridley from the division-rival Jaguars. Boyd has experience working with Callahan. In four years together in Cincy, Boyd averaged over 800 yards per season. He is coming off a down year in 2023, but a new team should provide a fresh start for the veteran receiver. Not being on the same team as Ja'Marr Chase will probably help, too.

Ridley is another veteran receiver who provides stability to the offense. He had over 1,000 yards last season in Jacksonville in his first season back after his suspension. With Hopkins being out, Ridley has had an opportunity to work more with Levis in the passing game. When available, he has proved to be a reliable threat on offense. The former Falcon has recorded over 1,000 yards every season he's played more than 14 games.

It is worth noting that drafting JC Latham was massive for the Titans. The left tackle position has been a revolving door since Taylor Lewan retired. Latham will provide some much-needed stability in Levis' blindside and allow him to actually have time to run through his progressions.

This will be a new-look Titans offense. The game plan will be centered around the quarterback instead of the running back for the first time in years. While it is a long shot, Levis has the tools to rack up numbers and lead the NFL in passing this season.