Texans: Kyle Allen almost makes Top 20 in backup QB rankings

Is Houston Texans QB Kyle Allen a viable backup in 2022?

In recent rankings made by Pro Football Network, Houston Texans quarterback Kyle Allen nearly made the Top 20 for backup quarterbacks, as he joins the Texans for the ’22 season, playing behind second-year starter Davis Mills.

Allen was ranked 22nd in the list of 32 backup quarterbacks, falling just behind Brandon Allen of the Cincinnati Bengals at 21st overall, and ranked just ahead of C.J. Beathard of the AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the rankings article by Mike Kaye of Pro Football Network, it says the following about Allen and him joining the Texans in 2022:

"“He’s capable of pushing Davis Mills without being an actual threat to his QB1 status. Allen can perform if he’s asked to replace Mills due to injury.”"

Allen is entering his fifth NFL season at quarterback with the 2018 and 2019 seasons being a part of the Carolina Panthers, and the past two seasons (2020-2021) he played for the newly named Washington Commanders.

The Texans quarterback has passed for 4,318 yards with 24 career touchdown passes and 17 career interceptions. He also has a career completion percentage of 63.1 percent.

One plus when it comes to Allen as the top backup is he does have starting experience, making 17 starts the past four seasons with a career record of 7-10. The past two seasons with Washington, Allen was 1-3 as a starter, and he completed 72 of 106 passes with Washington. Allen showed poise with five touchdown passes in those four starts (six total games played) and had just one interception.

In ’19 with the Panthers, Allen made 12 starts and played in 13 games, where he passed for 3,322 yards with 17 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions.

Now with the Texans he’ll hopefully sit and watch a lot this upcoming season, as that will mean Mills is healthy and doing an excellent job for Houston in ’22.

Texans: What does Houston need from Kyle Allen in 2022?

The Texans don’t need a lot of on-field time from their backup quarterback Kyle Allen, but they need him to be ready and prepared at a moment’s notice, because remember last season Mills was in the role of Allen, and Tyrod Taylor’s injury — and later poor overall play — led to Mills becoming the starter on two separate occasions.

Allen knows how to be a backup and be thrown into a role as a starter if need be, or how to enter a game when needed, so that is a plus for the Texans as Allen is experienced in all facets of being an NFL quarterback.

If he does have to play in the regular season for the Texans, another plus is he’ll have weapons at wide receiver because Brandin Cooks is better than he gets national credit for, Nico Collins has yet to hit is potential, and John Metchie III can become a big name in the NFL once he’s fully recovered from his injury and gets the reps needed as a rookie for Houston.

The Texans might not have the best backup quarterback in the league, but having Allen on the roster is a solid move by the Texans, and he’s a nice insurance policy for Houston to have on the roster in ’22 as Mills continues to work on his overall game in the starter’s role.