Inside Malik Willis' reaction to Titans picking Will Levis, workouts designed to leave 2022 behind

It's not like Malik Willis didn't see this coming.

Willis is in a precarious position heading into his second year in the Tennessee Titans' quarterback room. The Titans' third-round pick in 2022, Willis struggled and was benched as a rookie after three starts in relief of Ryan Tannehill. Willis never passed for more than 100 yards in a game and never threw a touchdown.

With Tannehill heading into the final year of his contract, the Titans used a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to select Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, a newer, shinier developmental project to build their future around.

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"I think it’s like getting news that you didn’t want. I think that’s the best way to look at it," Sean McEvoy, Willis' private quarterbacks coach, told The Tennessean. "You knew there was a possibility they were going to take a quarterback, either in the first round or the first three rounds. ... If you’re basing on when you last saw Malik in December, that was a guy the coaches perceived wasn’t ready to play. So if you’re looking forward at that quarterback room, there’s no ‘We’re definitely sure, 100% locked in with him’ guy. So I think it makes sense to add another person in that room."

McEvoy says the pick hasn't changed Willis' mindset. His goal is to be Tannehill's successor. Competing with Levis doesn't change that.

What Malik Willis needs to do better

Willis and McEvoy worked together four times a week from January through voluntary team workouts began the week before the draft. They put an intense focus on timing and footwork at the suggestion of Titans coaches Mike Vrabel, Tim Kelly and Pat O'Hara. Willis and McEvoy spent the spring honing Willis' movement in the pocket, repping dropbacks and play-fakes thousands of times until the movements become muscle memory.

McEvoy brought up the example of Willis' interception in his first start against the Houston Texans. The Titans ran a play they call "strike." It involves the quarterback turning his back, play-faking to the running back, taking a five-step drop and firing over the middle to a receiver running a skinny post. The receiver's break is supposed to sync perfectly with the top of the quarterback's drop, creating a seam to throw into.

But Willis didn't hit the top of his drop correctly and had to reset his feet. Willis was off time with his receiver. He threw behind where he was supposed to and the pass was intercepted.

It's a mistake pro quarterbacks shouldn't make. But it's also a mistake that's pretty easy to correct. It wasn't a processing error. It wasn't a lack of arm strength. Willis was just a step behind.

"The promising piece was realizing the things that maybe held you back from playing at a higher level are the easiest things to fix," McEvoy said. "Something like that, the timing and footwork, that's a repetition game. That’s a 10,000 hours thing. Get your 2,000 reps a day of doing the footwork over and over and over until it becomes automatic and you don’t think about it."

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A philosophical change

One of Willis' big adjustments as a rookie was a matter of philosophy. At Liberty, Willis improvising off schedule was the offense. He used his legs to extend plays because the talent around him was lacking. Liberty competed because Willis took over games.

That style didn't fly for Vrabel, who notably benched Willis in the preseason after Willis scrambled for a 17-yard gain when Vrabel wanted him to be throwing more. McEvoy said Hugh Freeze, Willis' coach at Liberty, would've raved about how great Willis' play-making instincts were rather than chiding him for playing out of schedule.

"I think the learning piece for Malik is understanding it’s different now," McEvoy said. "It’s more important that you’re on time executing the offense the way a guy with less ability to extend would do it. It’s almost like he needs to play more like Logan Woodside than Malik Willis at certain times."

Willis' climb to the Titans' starting job is obviously uphill. From 2010-22, there were four instances of teams picking quarterbacks in the first three rounds of back-to-back drafts. Three of the four quarterbacks in Willis' position were traded within the year.

Vrabel and GM Ran Carthon say Willis is the Titans' backup, behind Tannehill but ahead of Levis. Clearly, Levis has the chance to leapfrog Willis. But Willis isn't counting out his chances of beating out both.

"Everyone’s clear that the big issue late in the season was that they didn’t feel like he was where they needed him to be to start those last couple weeks," McEvoy said. "Malik just looks at himself there. Obviously there’s other factors that contribute to how ready a quarterback is. But all Malik is worried about is what did he do and what can he do better and just making sure that’s never a situation that happens again."

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans: Inside Malik Willis workouts, reaction to Will Levis