Texans' Davis Mills Joins Tom Brady on 'Best Team Money Can Buy'
HOUSTON — Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith recently said, "Starting jobs are not given out at this time of the year." But second-year quarterback Davis Mills has the upper hand to be the Texans' starter under center in 2022.
When the Texans drafted Mills as a third-round pick during the 2021 NFL Draft, the expectation for the project quarterback was to "redshirt" his rookie season as a backup to veteran Tyrod Taylor. Three weeks into the year, Mills got his first career start after Taylor sustained a hamstring injury in a loss to the Cleveland Browns.
But had he played behind future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady in 2021, Mills would be getting an additional year learning the game of football from the sidelines. Playing behind Brady is a scenario NFL.com created for Mills in their attempt to build "The Best Team Money Can Buy.''
"Although five first-round quarterbacks (seven total) were selected before him, Davis Mills trailed only Mac Jones in passing yards and passing touchdowns among rookies in 2021," NFL.com writes. "Mills is the only rookie in NFL history to have three games with a passer rating of at least 125.0. He won two of his final four starts with a Texans team lacking in talent."
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The decision to sign Mills over any of his peers drafted in 2021 is a testament to the ongoing debate on whether or not Houston possessed the second-best rookie quarterback last season.
Mills started 11 games for the 4-13 Texans, finishing with the second-highest completion percentage among rookie quarterbacks at 66.8. While finishing his rookie campaign throwing for 2,664 yards, Mills registered the third-highest passer rating among first-year quarterbacks at 80.2.
Keep in mind: This is about a budget - not about Mills being the second-best QB in the league. But in a salary-cap league, value matters. And NFL.com thinks Houston has value here.
