Davis Mills named a QB that NFL teams must trade for
After being taken in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, former Stanford quarterback Davis Mills ended up surprising a lot of people during his rookie season.
Mills came to Stanford as the highest ranked quarterback recruit in program history, but left only playing in 14 games. This led to him falling off the radar of most teams and fans, but during his rookie season with the Houston Texans he showed flashes of someone that could be a franchise quarterback. He threw for the most passing yards in a season by a Texans rookie with 2,664, and also compiled the highest completion percentage in a season by a Texas rookie at 66.8%.
With a strong first season there were discussions being had around the league that maybe the Texans hit the jackpot for taking a chance on the former five-star. However, Mills fell victim to the sophomore slump this past season seeing his interceptions increase and his completion percentage decrease. This led to the Texans moving on from him, as they drafted Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick in the most recent NFL Draft.
While to many this means it's the end of the Mills era in Houston, but what it doesn't mean is that Mills won't get another shot elsewhere. Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox broke down the six quarterbacks in and around the NFL that he thinks NFL teams must trade for, and Mills was among them joining Malik Willis, Trey Lance and Ben DiNucci among others. Knox cited his experience accumulated in his first two seasons as a major reason teams should pursue him whether it be as a possible starter or backup.
Two categories of teams should be interested in Mills: those looking for a developmental quarterback for the future and those who could use a 24-year-old backup with 28 games and 26 starts worth of experience. Mills might not get the chance to be either this season in Houston, which added Case Keenum in free agency before drafting C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick.
Knox identified both the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals as teams that should pursue Mills.