Houston Texans: 4 positives from 2021 season

3. Adding Davis Mills to the team and making him the starter at QB

When the Houston Texans decided to draft Davis Mills in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, it was thought to be a long-term idea to get him ready to be a starter in the NFL, and to see if he could work and build his way to be the starting quarterback of the future.

The “future” appeared a lot quicker than expected because when starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was injured in Week 2, Mills had to finish that game, then make six straight starts for the Texans, and he was not ready to be thrown into the fire so to speak with the Texans losing the six games he played as the starting quarterback.

Maybe being thrown into the thick of things was what Mills needed, because once Taylor returned and didn’t perform as well as the decision makers thought he should be performing, Mills was given a second chance, and his play was much better than the first attempt as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

In 13 games (11 starts), Mills totaled 2,664 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He completed 66.8 percent of his passes, and his longest pass went for 67 yards. Mills averaged 204 passing yards per game, was sacked 31 times, and his adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) was 5.48.

Mills started from Week 14-18 in his second stint as the Houston Texans starting quarterback, and in Week 14, though a loss in the standings, it was a game that saw the rookie pass for his season-best 331 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

Another positive for Mills late in the season in his final five starts was he threw just two interceptions and had an amazing nine touchdown passes. That’s a solid ending to a rookie season and something he can build off of to further his NFL career.