Davis Mills deserves a fair shot

Davis Mills is probably one of the most underrated stories of the entire 2021 season. A much-criticized pick by that year’s draft, Mills was trusted into the starting job by a series of factors, including Deshaun Watson‘s stance against the team by asking to be traded (and, obviously, the fact that he had 22 sexual harassment accusations going against him) and Tyrod Taylor getting hurt early in the season after a great start.

It was going to be impossible for any quarterback to make a playoff push with that horrendous Texans team – just remember how Deshaun Watson was one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in the 2020 season, yet Houston finished 4-12. But Mills deputized admirably and earned some praise for his development and how he navigated through a year with virtually no chance of success, with head coach David Culley fired after just a year.

The Texans’ don’t really have an answer for a franchise quarterback. After trading Deshaun Watson, they were able to add a good amount of talent to the roster with two first-round picks – and there’s still a long haul to come over the next two years. But Mills is becoming a more exciting option by the day. He did very well for a rookie last season, and with some improved protection and more talent on the roster, it’s going to be interesting to see what he can do with more reps and more practice time with the first team.

At the end of the day, any ideas of trade for Jimmy Garoppolo are unnecessary because they’d pay a lot for a quarterback who doesn’t really improve any chances of the Texans getting into the Super Bowl sooner. To be fair, neither does Mills right now, but they don’t have to pay anything for him to start in 2022.

Houston has a free shot at a franchise quarterback. If Mills struggles in 2022, the worst thing that might happen is that they’re going to be in a good position to pick one of the best quarterback prospects of the 2023 NFL Draft. Mills deserves at least a fair shot.