Davis Mills proves he belongs

Mike Florio ,

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The 2021 draft class has more than a few quarterbacks who busted. There’s one guy who, four years later, is finally breaking out.

Davis Mills, the third pick in round three (taken one spot after the Vikings selected Kellen Mond), has won three games in a row, beating the Jaguars, Titans, and Bills. And while he’ll likely take a seat for C.J. Stroud when the Texans face the Colts in Week 13, Mills has done enough to get the attention of the league at large.

“I just want it to be seen that I am capable of going out there and winning big games,” Mills told PFT by phone after Houston’s 36-29 win over the Jaguars. “This was a big divisional win for our team as we’re still continuing to push forward throughout the season, we’ve got a lot of games still to go ahead of us and we want to start the momentum to on a streak and get in the playoffs.”

Under Mills, who gave the Broncos a run for their money after Stroud exited with a concussion, the Texans have surged from 3-5 afterthought to 6-5 contender. And Mills has supplemented his 26 starts from 2021 and 2022 with a series of solid performances that will potentially give him an eventual chance to be a starter elsewhere.

He’s signed through 2026, at a base salary next year of $6 million. It makes him a potential trade target in the offseason, given the not-so-robust class of free agents and incoming group of rookies who, for now, doesn’t seem to be as promising as it once was.

Against the Bills, Mills completed 16 of 30 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Coupled with a dominant defense, he was able to outduel defending MVP Josh Allen.

For the season, Mills has thrown 150 passes, completing 88 of them for 879 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception.

However it plays out for Mills in the future, he’s making himself far more desirable than three of the five 2021 first-rounders: Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields. And Mills may have, over the last three-plus games, played his way onto the radar screen of teams that will looking for a new quarterback next year.

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