PALM BEACH, Fla. — Rifling passes while operating a more free-wheeling offense during the final game of his rookie season, Texans quarterback Davis Mills delivered an encouraging last note to his rookie campaign during a season finale against the Tennessee Titans.
Davis Mills showed promise in his rookie season
In a 28-25 loss to the AFC South champions to close out the year, Mills was extremely impressive in passing for 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The performance continued Mills’ upward trend as he sparked the offense and made his case to enter 2022 as the Texans’ starting quarterback.
The Texans like the progress they’ve seen from Mills as their presumed QB1. And Houston is considered unlikely to trade for a veteran quarterback like Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
While Mills went 2-9 in 11 starts as the replacement for veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor, he had his moments. Mills completed 66.8% of his throws for a franchise rookie record 2,664 yards — passing former top overall pick David Carr. He also threw 16 touchdowns to 10 interceptions for a respectable 88.8 passer rating.
Mills displayed arm strength, accuracy, some ability to escape pressure and throw on the run, and an ability to take care of the football.
Love Smith speaks on Mills
“I got to see the best, some of the best, of what Davis could do last year — practice field, game, all of that,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said Monday morning during the NFL Annual League meeting. “So you start with that. Demeanor, he’s smart. He can throw the ball. He’s a better athlete than he’s given credit for.
“Second year in the system with Pep Hamilton, all of those things just feel like [it puts him] ahead of the curve a little bit. And I’ve been around a few quarterbacks in my time. I know what they look like, and we’re excited about going forward with him.”
A former top-ranked blue-chip recruit from Atlanta, Mills was as advertised in terms of being a big pocket passer with arm talent and sufficient mobility to create passing lanes when under duress.
Strong finish in Year 1
For the 4-13 Texans, Mills finished strong. He completed 68.9% of his throws for 927 yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs, and a 106.1 passer rating to go 2-2 in the final four games of the season. In home games at NRG Stadium, Mills passed for 12 touchdowns with 1 interception.
He had four games with a passer rating over 100, including a 141.7 in a loss to the New England Patriots, 130.6 in an upset victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, 128.5 against the Titans, and 106.2 against the Los Angeles Rams. Throughout his rookie season, Mills maintained his composure.
Nick Caserio shares his thoughts on Mills
“I think his ability to kind of handle everything that comes with playing that position and not get too rattled or too flustered,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said. “You guys have talked to Davis, his personality is even-keel, which is kind of a good thing. You don’t get too high, you don’t get too low. It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s not that internal drive. He’s a competitive person, it’s just his personality is such, which isn’t a bad thing to have.
“I think he kind of handled everything put in front of him last year as well as he could have. When he went back in and played, he was able to kind of build on some of the things he struggled with early on. Those last four or five games, he played at a decent level and at least gave us an opportunity to win. The most important thing at that position is just take care of the football and not turn the ball over. If you do that as a quarterback, you at least give your team an opportunity to go out and win.”
Against the Titans, Mills completed 23 of 33 passes for 301 yards. A rookie passed for 300 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions just twice last season. Both times it was Mills who hit those marks in losses to the Patriots and the Titans.
Mills reflects on his rookie season
“I think the biggest thing was probably that I know I’m able to compete at a really high level in the NFL,” Mills said after the season. “I think it took a couple games at the start of the season for me to get a really good grasp of the game at this level. But I think really ever since I came back into the starting role in the second half of the season, the game started to slow down a little bit for me.
“The better I knew the offense, I just felt more confident out there playing with all my teammates. I think some of the wins later in the season showed that. Also, I think we started to find our identity as an offense when we’re out there really just having a great time on the field competing together.
“I think just being in the offense, in the scheme for longer, I was able to get a better understanding for it. Really focused on what we needed to do on specific plays and certain situations in the game. There were things that I learned, in-game experience that I was able to kind of pull from later in the season when making decisions and kind of managing the clock, managing the whole game. I think just the experience from those reps early in the season allowed me to grow as a player.”
Improving the nuances
Mills isn’t the type to pat himself on the back, but he knows he’s on the right track. He got vastly better at reading defenses and understanding the nuances of the game.
“I don’t know if I’m at mastery level of anything yet,” Mills said. “I think I definitely have improved. I hope I get to that mastery level at some point. I think a lot of it, just being more efficient breaking the huddle, getting up to the line and making sure we’re in the right protection, pointing to the correct person, things like that where I’m able to see maybe the linebackers are bossed one way, but the safeties are showing that they’re in a two-high shell, but being able to anticipate that a safety might roll down and add into the box.
“Just kind of being able to work all that in your brain a lot quicker because you’ve seen it before, a bunch of different stuff like that has really allowed me to improve later in the season.”
The way Mills played showed he’s more of a solution than a problem for a rebuilding franchise.
“You can tell he is just getting way more comfortable,” Texans linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill said. “I was very happy and impressed with how he played, him slinging it around, throwing touchdowns. And there’s been a lot of glimpses where he just flashes like an elite-level quarterback. I’m excited for his future.”
Caserio eyes improvement from Mills
Mills had the most 300-yard passing games as well as the most 125.0+ passer rating performances among rookie quarterbacks in 2021.
“The big thing from Year 1 to Year 2 is just improvement,” Caserio said. “You obviously have a familiarity with the expectations from day to day, so you really have to focus on your individual craft and try to improve as much as possible as a player, whether it’s working on your lower body strength or working on your timing with the receivers, it’s just growth, and it’s just progress.
“That’s the most important thing at this time of year. That’s really the most important thing. Try to establish a consistent routine in the spring, and you can actually try to make improvement as a player.”
