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Can Malik Willis show enough improvement to impress Titans?




Malik Willis works in Tuesday’s OTA session for the Titans. By Terry McCormick

Maybe the thoughts of writing off Malk Willis after a lost rookie season are a bit premature after all.

With the Titans drafting Will Levis in the second round of this year’s draft, there has been plenty of speculation that Willis, a third-round pick just last year, could have a hard time hanging on to his roster spot barring drastic improvements in his mastery of the offensive system and overall play in general.

Last year, when thrown into the fray when Ryan Tannehill was injured, Willis struggled mightily, not throwing a single touchdown pass and failing to pass for even 100 yards in any game. The struggles became so great that the Titans chose journeyman Josh Dobbs to start their final two regular-season games after just eight days with the club.

When the Titans traded up for Levis in the draft, it only further fueled the idea that Willis’ tenure with the Titans might be a brief one.

Coach Mike Vrabel said that part of Willis’ challenge professionally goes beyond just throwing the football and making the correct reads. Vrabel wants to see Willis carry himself with the type of leadership and decisiveness needed to succeed at the position.

“What we’ve asked Malik to do is come back with a presence to him and making sure that when you’re the quarterback of one of the 32 NFL franchises, there’s a certain demeanor that you have to carry yourself with a presence and leadership,” Vrabel said. “There’s a lot that goes into it, other than just delivering the football. You have to be really good at delivering the football and being accurate and make great decisions with it and making sure that it goes where it’s supposed to go.”

It’s early in OTAs, but so far, so good – Vrabel likes some of the improvements he has seen from Willis in his approach.

“I felt like he did that.. He came back and was into it, and there was certainly a bounce to him, and he’s continued to do that, and it’s early on in the evaluation process, and that’s what he’s done,” Vrabel said.

For his part, Willis in dealing with the media, didn’t provide a lot of information about his situation, nor the competition thrust upon him with the drafting of Levis.

“I’m just trying to get better every day and focusing on what I can control,” Willis said.

As for Levis joining the Titans quarterback room, Willis wouldn’t bite on that question.

“What does knowing that change? You’ve got to go to work the same way. It don’t matter,” he said.

While Willis may brush aside any thought of direct competition with Levis to be Tannehill’s primary backup and the team’s quarterback of the future, teammates and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly say that Willis does look improved in the early stages of the offseason program.

“He seems a lot more confident in the huddle, especially when he’s calling the plays, and with his reads, he’s a lot more decisive and the ball still jumps out of his hand.. He’s got with that arm.I feel like he’s been really, really accurate with his throws,” tight end Chig Okonkwo said. 

Kelly said it is important to try and take advantage of Willis’ unique skill set that makes him a far different commodity than the other quarterbacks on the roster. He also said he has seen some improvement.

“With Malik, he’s done a great job of doing everything that we’ve asked him to do,” Kelly said.”He’s come in, he’s put in the time, he’s put in extra work, studying our offense, studying defensive football. Malik has done a great job with all that. As far as changing how he plays, I don’t know if that’s a fair thing to say. He’s got such a unique skill set. When he’s out there and he’s playing fast, you can really see those traits flourish.”

Missing from OTAs

Several veteran players were absent from the team’s voluntary organized team activities with All-Pro safety Kevin Byard heading the list. Byard, who refused a pay cut to help the Titans salary cap situation in the off-season, has been notably absent for all the off-season work, but Coach Mike Vrabel said he has no worries that Byard will be ready to go when the time comes.

Others missing included cornerbacks Kristian Fulton and Caleb Farley, linebackers Harold Landry, Sam Okauyinonu and Monty Rice, defensive lineman Denico Autry, tight end Trevon Wesco and offensive lineman Dillon Radunz. Of that group, Farley, Landry and Radunz are known to be dealing with injuries from last season.