Will Off-Season Improvements Help Davis Mills Keep Texans Starting QB Job?
HOUSTON — Quarterback Davis Mills stood in front of his locker a day after he led the Houston Texans to a 32-31 Week 18 victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 9.
Mills had just completed his sophomore season at Lucas Oil Stadium with 298 passing yards while going 22-for-38 and three touchdowns. In the final 2 minutes and 43 seconds, Mills led the Texans on the last drive of the season with 83 yards in 14 plays, which ended with a pass to tight end Jordan Akins for a game-winning touchdown.
Following his performance, Mills was hopeful he did enough to retain his starting job next season. But with the No. 2 pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Texans used their top overall selection on Ohio State's prospect C.J. Stroud.
It appeared Stroud would be named the starting quarterback right away. But at the start of voluntary OTAs, Mills spent Tuesday morning taking first-team reps at the Houston Methodist Training Center. And when speaking to the media following practice, Mills made his message loud and clear — he intends to compete for the starting job.
"The hunger and the drive to become better is still there," Mills said. "When I was stepping in here as a rookie, not knowing anything to where I am now, having all that built-up experience from my starts over these past two years — I'm ready for the year."
Mills said he spent the off-season focusing on himself and improving in the areas that made his sophomore season a regression from his rookie year.
He did not disclose the attributes he emphasized when enhancing his play. But one area of improvement had to be enhancing his accuracy. He finished last season completing 60.9 percent of his passes, a drop-off from connecting on 66.8 percent of his throws as a rookie.
There are several reasons why Mills feels he has a chance to win the starting job. One of the biggest factors is the addition of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, whose offense is a good fit for Mills' skill set.
"A ton of stuff we talk about in that offense is finding ways to create yards after catches by the receivers," Mills said. "It's been exciting so far. We've been pushing the tempo a lot, being aggressive with timing and anticipation on our side as the quarterbacks, and really trying to emphasize to those guys on the edge that we're playing fast and we're going to run by people this year."
Between a suitable offense and learning from the last year's failures, Mills said he feels different entering his third season. He remains optimistic about the franchise's future with new head coach DeMeco Ryans and is "excited and blessed" to have a chance to compete for the starting job come Week 1 of the 2023 campaign.
Mills said he has always been self-motivated, but the addition of Stroud has made him more propelled to be the best player he could be.
"Obviously, he [Stroud] is another stress factor to push me to be my best, but a lot of that falls back on me," Mills said. "I have to be the one who is putting in the work. Waking up every day with the same motivation. If I keep that with me, everything is going to work itself out."
The Texans gave Mills a chance to prove whether or not he could be the quarterback of the future at the start of the 2022 campaign. But amid Houston's 3-13-1 record, he fell short of expectations.
The lowest point for Mills last season came ahead of the Texans' Week 12 contest against the Miami Dolphins. Former coach Lovie Smith benched Mills in favor of backup quarterback Kyle Allen. But after two subpar performances, Mills regained his job entering Week 14.
In 15 games played, Mills threw for 3,118 yards and 17 touchdowns. He finished the season tied with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for the most interceptions in the league with 15.
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