With uncertainty surrounding the Houston Texans franchise quarterback, the team selected Stanford product Davis Mills with their first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, being the 67th overall selection.
There is no long-term answer on the roster for a worst case scenario outcome with Deshaun Watson, so grabbing a quarterback in Round 3 is not really surprising to some. With Kellen Mond — who seemed like a good fit for the Texans— going the pick before, Houston grabbed Mills to fill in for the QB depth needed, behind Tyrod Taylor.
Coming out of high school, Mills was a sought-after five-star prospect. Many big schools, including Alabama, were after the Georgia native. He eventually decided to go across the country to Palo Alto and enroll at Stanford.
Mills’ time at Stanford did not meet expectations. He struggled to win the job but eventually received an opportunity after an injury to start K.J. Costello. In total, Mills appeared in just 13 games and threw 438 passes for Stanford.
Most seem to think that the former Cardinal possesses many of the traits that teams look for in quarterback, listed at 6’4″ and 225 pounds. According to NFL.com, he has shown arm talent that scouts think can translate to the next level. However, it will take the right situation and a coaching staff willing to develop him over time.
The Houston Texans signed veteran Tyrod Taylor this offseason, which seemed like a contingency in the event that Watson was unable to play. Therefore Mills will not be expected to see the field at any point this season, plus new quarterback coach Pep Hamilton has shown the ability to work with young passers in the past.
There was no winning with this pick. Fans were left waiting for two rounds and could only guess what was going to happen. Texas product Joseph Ossai was still on the board and would have certainly helped a team in need of pass rush with the loss of J.J. Watt.
With the uncertainty that surrounds the most important position on the team, trying to find a potential signal caller for the future makes sense, while it was not a splash pick necessarily and a bit underwhelming.
PICK GRADE: C+
Fans will likely completely disagree, but the franchise owed it to itself to have some plan in place, and the fact that they made this pick may be foreshadowing for what could be coming.