Talking about Davis Mills as the Houston Texans’ future is the Bayou City equivalent to taking a whiffle bat to a hornets nest, or streaking at the Westminster dog show in Milk Bone underwear.
In baseball, the Astros fanbase has never been more unified than their rally cry to resign All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa. For those invested in the Rockets, there has been moderate controversy over potential trades of Eric Gordon or Christian Wood but everyone generally understands the team is going through the growing pains of a rebuild in the NBA.
Mills, the Texans’ 2021 third-round selection and starter of their last five games, represents an entirely different beast. Mills comes off a promising rookie campaign that came amongst a bad offense and very few wins. He completed 67% of his passes for 2,664 yards and 16 touchdowns over the course of 11 starts. His development from his first start against the Carolina Panthers to the season finale against the Tennessee Titans was evident to everyone.
The question becomes: how does Mills project to the future?
Some believe they have seen enough to move on. Between Mills’ limited physical talent on the ground, occasional poor showings during the season, and low draft capital investment they believe there’s little reason to take much stock into his potential as the future of the franchise.
Others are convinced Mills is the franchise. He flashed phenomenal ball placement and kept the team competitive at the end of the season despite horrific game plans from offensive coordinator Tim Kelly all without a run game or many receiving weapons.
Somewhere in the middle, as it so often is, the truth can be found. In a porous 2022 quarterback class at the top of the NFL draft, it is indeed in Houston’s best interest to give Mills a chance in 2022. A full off-season to work with new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and an improved team around him on offense should only help the second-year player take the necessary steps forward if he’s to become the Texans’ franchise quarterback. However, he can’t be the only serviceable quarterback on the roster. This isn’t Tom Brady or Justin Herbert.
Houston has a responsibility to bring in a veteran quarterback that can compete with Mills. Someone who, on one end, may win the job outright in camp and disappoint any narrative regarding Mills as the franchise or, alternatively, may simply serve as a mentor to the young quarterback.
A quarterback like Jameis Winston, who’s spent the past two years in New Orleans, represents the former example of a player who would likely best Mills in a camp competition. There’s a connection there with new coach Lovie Smith, who drafted Jameis No. 1 overall in 2015. On the opposite end, an older veteran such as Joe Flacco or Ryan Fitzpatrick would be asked to serve entirely in a mentor role.
The consensus around Mills with a weak incoming rookie class has largely settled on the veteran quarterback solution. How hard to push a player with unknown potential is where the question gets harder. There is one option for Houston that represents a happy medium. A veteran quarterback that Mills should absolutely beat but still represents a high end back-up that would have versatility outside the traditional starter role.
Enter Las Vegas Raiders and former Tennessee Titans signal call Marcus Mariota.
Mariota was a Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Oregon before being selected No. 2 overall in the 2015 draft by the Titans. He started in Tennessee for four seasons before ultimately being supplanted by current Titans’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill at the midpoint of the 2019 campaign, one that saw Tennessee advance as far as the AFC Championship Game. Since then Mariota has served as the backup to Derek Carr in Las Vegas.
Mariota is a 62% career passer with an 89.5 passer rating Rating of 89.5 (Mills, for comparison, boasted an 88.2 last year despite the awful game in Buffalo) 77 touchdowns and 45 interceptions. In short: Mariota is a perfectly average NFL quarterback. Probably somewhere between the 28th and 40th best professional quarterback in the league.
He represents a challenger that Mills, on surface value, should be able to beat. Mills comes in with history with Hamilton and the confidence of the general manager who drafted him. If he can’t beat the likes of Mariota in a camp competition, it would serve as a clear signal to Smith and the rest of the organization that Mills is not a long-term answer at quarterback.
The youth and desire to be a starting quarterback that would represent a true challenge to Davis but with a track record that suggest Mills should more than be able to hold his own. That’s the sweet spot. Should Mariota win the job it’s also very possible he could take steps forward under Hamilton.
There’s no need for a veteran quarterback to “teach Mills to play the position.” Hamilton has a reputation for developing young quarterbacks and, if the Josh McCown rumors are true, there will be more than enough voices to help Mills in 2022. This is all in addition to two offensive assistants that have been hired, both former quarterbacks.
Another advantage to the Mariota signing? Versatility.
In Vegas, coach Jon Gruden used Mariota sparingly as a runner. He was brought in for short yardage situations and, when asked to play, made ample use of his legs. Mariota has 1,574 career rushing yards with 13 touchdowns and 101 first downs gained on the ground.
More than likely, Houston will struggle to run the ball again in 2022. The offensive line and running back group both have talent deficiencies that will be hard to fix in one offseason. A new scheme and new position coaches will help but it’s a facet of the game that will need support in any direction possible. The ability to insert Mariota in third-and-short or on the goal line creates an additional wrinkle for Hamilton to employ and forces defensive coordinators to account for it during their weekly game plan.
In short, Mariota is an experienced quarterback that could truly push Mills to compete without representing an impossible obstacle for him to overcome. His skills on the ground could serve as another weapon for the offense and, should anything happen to Mills over the season, Houston would still have high end backup quarterback play.
For a quarterback that’s looking for an opportunity to start, Houston may represent a great chance for someone like Mariota. Smith likely did plenty of homework on Mariota coming out of college and those in the building will certainly have opinions after watching him for five years in Tennessee.
Ultimately, it comes down to what Nick Caserio thinks is best for the football team.