The Houston Texans are putting all of their chips on quarterback Davis Mills in 2022.
The former 2021 third-round pick from Stanford won’t have to learn under a veteran or battle with a comparable talent for first-team reps. The Texans have decided Mills is their field general for the franchise’s 21st regular season.
Texans coach Lovie Smith told reporters after organized team activities on Tuesday how pleased he has been with Mills’ visibility as a leader in and around NRG Stadium.
“Every day we’ve opened up the building, he’s been in here,” Smith said. “He’s our quarterback. When you’re the leader, you’ve got to be visible. It’s been documented on what I think of Davis. I think he’s going to be an excellent quarterback in the NFL for a lot of years, but it’s about this year.”
The Texans are doing what they can to surround Mills, not only with a bevy of perimeter players from Brandin Cooks to second-round rookie John Metchie, but resources in offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and quarterback Kevin Hogan — both of whom worked in the same offensive system at Stanford under coach David Shaw that Mills is most familiar with.
Said Smith: “Having a year, he and Pep Hamilton getting on the same page with our offense, and him being in a role from the start, that’s different also. But that’s what you do. You have a chance for him to establish himself as one of our primary leaders each day.”
Mills went 2-9 as a starter and initiated his career with a six-game losing streak. However, over the final five games of 2021, the Texans reinserted Mills into the starting lineup. The 6-4, 225-pound signal caller went 2-3, tallying a 9-2 touchdown to interception ratio, and a 102.4 passer rating. Houston is hopeful a full season with those types of numbers with solve the club’s quarterback struggles.
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