The Houston Texans won’t win many games in 2022. Yet if Davis Mills proves a good quarterback, the season is a success.
Lovie Smith believes in Davis Mills.
Last year, the Houston Texans went through Tyrod Taylor and Mills under center, with the rookie getting the majority of the snaps and starts by season’s end. Entering his second campaign out of Stanford, Mills has gotten a vote of confidence from his new head coach.
On Monday, Smith spoke to media about his young quarterback and the growth he believes could be ahead of him, per NFL.com:
“If you look at all of my comments about Davis, I am a believer in him and what he’s going to do. Eventually, he’s got to do it all on the football field consistently where everybody loves him, every snap and all of that. Before a guy has played enough to do all of that, he shows up every day. Availability, he is available, and he has recruited other players to come here, and what the guys see him doing is just working. When I say I believe in him, (offensive coordinator) Pep Hamilton, second year in the system, all of these things. … If you just go back and look at the plays that he made, throwing the ball downfield last year, so many good things that he did, and that’s as a rookie.”
For Smith and Texans’ fans, there’s ample reason to be excited about Mills. Statistically speaking, he was the second-best rookie quarterback in 2021 behind only Mac Jones, who had a much better situation with the New England Patriots. Despite dysfunction and a horrid supporting cast, the third-round pick threw for 2,664 yards with 16 touchdowns against 10 interceptions.
Only 23 years old, this is a massive season for Mills. Should he play well, he’s in position to be the long-term answer for Houston, which has a treasure trove of draft picks following the Deshaun Watson trade to help improve the club around him.
This season isn’t about wins and losses for Houston or Mills. Rather, it’s about finding out whether the youngster has the right stuff to move forward with. If so, the Texans’ rebuild is ahead of schedule and armed with a major stockpile of picks and cap space.
Houston’s new head coach believes in Mills. Now he needs to reward the faith.
