Davis Mills was atrocious in toto in 2021.
The Houston Texans’ No. 67 overall pick in Round 3 that year went 2-9 as a starter, thanks to an 0-6 losing streak to start his career. Mills threw 16 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and posted an 88.8 passer rating. If not for the last five games of the season when Mills went 2-3 with a 9-2 touchdown to interception ratio and a 102.4 passer rating, his rookie season may have been worse.
According to Peter King from NBC Sports, who visited Texans training camp, Mills is using his experiences in 2021 as points to build upon, and referenced Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning’s rough rookie season in 1998.
Interesting thing I talked about with Mills: He’s lucky to have been the 67th pick in the 2021 draft with zero pressure on him, instead of the first (Trevor Lawrence) or second (Zach Wilson), with instant production demanded. “Didn’t Peyton [Manning] set the rookie interception record?” Mills said. “I got to play, then watch and learn, then play, in my first year, and I thought I had a lot of growth by the end.”
Manning threw 28 interceptions as the Indianapolis Colts finished 3-13. The following season the Colts turned around their fortunes with a 13-3 finish. Manning still threw the same number of touchdowns as his rookie campaign — 26 — but he had cut the interceptions down a more manageable 15.
Similarly Mills already has a penchant for being careful with the football, as his 3-of-3 for 14 yards stat line in the preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints proved. If Mills is able to take any measure of growth along with the rest of the team under new coach Lovie Smith, the Texans should be able to get out of the four-win funk that has plagued their regular season records for the past two seasons.
