The Tennessee Titans training camp is underway, and the team starts its 2023 NFL preseason on Saturday, August 12, against the Chicago Bears. As players fight and claw for Titans' roster spots and starting positions, some players are rising to the top while others are struggling. Here are the three key players struggling early in Tennessee during NFL training camp, starting with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

QB Ryan Tannehill

The biggest question mark out of Titans training camp is what is going to happen with Ryan Tannehill. The longtime Titans QB is in the last year of his deal and likely on the last leg of his career. Still, he is currently the starter until either Malik Willis or Will Levis is ready to take the reins.

Ideally for the Titans, one of those two will step up in the NFL preseason and grab the job so that Tennessee won’t be stuck in purgatory for one more year. And if the first few days of Titans training camo is any indication; the job is ripe for the taking.

Tannehill hasn’t played poorly. He’s just played like Ryan Tannehill. That means he’s mostly been good but not at all spectacular, and he doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, but when he does, it’s a doozy.

So far, Willis looks like he did last year. He has some incredible moments of brilliance, especially getting out of the pocket, but his reads and accuracy still leave a lot to be desired. He came into this NFL preseason as the Titans’ QB2, but Levis is already closing that gap.

Levis’ performance should ultimately make him at least the backup for the season, but can he overtake Tannehill? That is the big question. If Tannehill doesn’t step it up a notch and at least look like the high-end game manager he is at his best, the 2023 second-round pick will be breathing down his neck.

LT Andre Dillard

In fairness to Ryan Tannehill and all the quarterbacks, it’s hard to perform your best when Arden Key, Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, and Harold Landry III are in your face every play. And that’s what the main issue in Titans training camp is right now.

There isn’t a single offensive lineman who is playing at an incredibly high level right now, although first-round pick Peter Skowronski is getting praise while transitioning from left tackle to guard.

The biggest flop so far — outside of RT Jamarco Jones, who just got cut for multiple practice fights — is free-agent left tackle Andre Dillard. The former Philadelphia Eagles O-lineman came in with big shoes to fill after the team cut longtime bookend, Taylor Lewan. But in the first week of camp, he’s looked bad.

The defensive line has crushed the offensive line early in this NFL preseason. It’s been so bad that “s**t” is the word Mike Vrabel used for the unit.

There are two silver linings here. In addition to Skowronski, sixth-round pick out of Maryland, Jaelyn Duncan, has looked decent, too, and now the Titans may have a young nucleus on the line to build around.

The other good news on this part of the Titans roster is that on Friday, reports out of camp were that Dillard finally looked good and won some individual battles with Key and Autry. Hopefully, the bad job early was just some new team jitters, and Dillard can turn it around now.

WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

Just a few short months ago, it looked like fourth-year wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine would be no worse than third, and maybe even second, on the Titans roster at his position. Since then, though, a few things have happened.

First, the team signed star veteran DeAndre Hopkins, pushing Westbrook-Ikhine down the depth chart. Then, Kyle Philips and Chris Moore both started stepping up in camp.

And finally, Westbrook-Ikhine has had some issues with drops during the team’s first few padded practices, and now the 6-foot-2 wideout went from a potential starter to probably making the final 53-man Titans roster.

Philips has been excellent in camp, developing chemistry with all the quarterbacks and using his quick, 5-foot-11 frame to make plays underneath like he did at UCLA before joining the Titans as a fifth-round pick last season. Moore, who spent five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and two with the Houston Texans, has also performed well.

If Westbrook-Ikhine doesn’t start proving to the coaches that his hands can be trusted, he could have a problem in what is quickly becoming a relatively crowded wide receiver room.