Is QB Mills The Right Call for Texans Future?

With the 67th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans drafted Stanford quarterback Davis Mills. But how does this pick grade?

With the 67th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans drafted Stanford quarterback Davis Mills.

What is our eval? And our grade?

A 2020 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, Mills stands tall at 6'4" 225 pounds. He possess a big and accurate arm, can take a hit from inside the pocket and is tough to bring down. He can even do a pretty decent Nick Foles impression when acting as a receiver.

It was the @Millsions Show today 📺.

Davis Mills showed out in his second start for @StanfordFball throwing 3️⃣ touchdowns for 245 yards and catching a TD pass in the Card’s gritty win over OSU. pic.twitter.com/WztWhvWFc7

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 29, 2019

Given the uncertainty surrounding Deshaun Watson's future and that both Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Finley are on short-term deals, the Texans have taken Mills sliding as an opportunity to look to the future.

Is this an immediate need? Frankly, no. It's also one that does come with questions knowing the immediate need at a multitude of positions.  

There were a number of players still available that would have been able to contribute immediately, like Joseph Ossai, Milton Williams, Elijah Molden and Josh Palmer. Fellow standouts like Dyami Brown and Alim McNiel and Ifeatu Melifonwu are other high-end players that could be starters Week 1. 

The Texans need options at corner. Their defensive front is a mismatched patchwork of short-term free agents. They need to upgrade a wide receiver after losing DeAndre Hopkins in 2020 and Will Fuller in 2021. 

As such, if you're grading this pick with the short-term lense, it's somewhere around a D. 

Keeping the future in mind the Texans front office clearly knows that 2021 is something of a tester year. Come 2022, they will have first and second-round picks once again, they'll have a better idea of the type of team head coach David Culley wants to build, and the future of Watson should be figured out. 

If Watson is traded, one could be looking at multiple Day 1 and 2 selections come next April. 

Selecting Mills now gives him a year to sit and learn from QB coach Pep Hamilton, before potentially starting with a more rounded and settled team next season. 

Mills: Texans passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton called me before I got on this conference call with you all. I'm excited to come to Houston and meet him."

— Drew Dougherty (@DoughertyDrew) May 1, 2021

With this in mind, we'll up it ... and go for a C-. 

Yes, he has potential. Let's also remember what Hamilton managed to do with another former Stanford QB named Andrew Luck? That's where we will put our hopes.