From SI.com:
Rookie Davis Mills In For Deshaun Watson: 'Like Having A First-Round QB' For Houston Texans?
At least one NFL scouting director believes Davis Mills could have been a first-round pick in 2022 - a cause for 2021 optimism
MIKE FISHER1 HOUR AGO
There continues to be an overwhelming sense of negativity as it relates to the legal drama engulfing the Houston Texans and star quarterback Deshaun Watson ... but the situation also begs for some however-tiny room for a sense of positivity.
Enter No. 67 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, Stanford signal-caller Davis Mills.
"A lot of people around the league are saying he could have been a first-round draft pick next year if he had stayed in school,'' veteran NFL reporter
Aaron Wilson quotes NFL scouting director as saying. "Very intriguing.”
For right now, "very intriguing'' will have to do. There is no way, after one rookie minicamp featuring a third-round prospect, to verify "like a first-round pick.'' Nor is there a way to even justify Houston's selection of Mills - though we are on-record as supporting the general concept of throwing darts at the QB position in the draft, if only due to the high value of a bull's eye.
The Texans' preference at QB? Oh, in a dream world, it would be lovely for Watson's entanglements to magically get solved, for the conflicts with the organization to get solved, too, and for team's MVP to continue to be the team's MVP.
In a more real world? Houston would help Mills to beat out Tyrod Taylor for the starting job, thus verifying and justifying the notion that he "would've been a first-round pick.''
And, along with that real-world possibility would come a blockbuster trade of Watson that would present Houston with a treasure chest of future high draft picks.
Short of that? Just as there is no way to know when Watson’s legal situation will be solved, there is no way of knowing how ready the Texans' present collection of QBs are to helping turn around the franchise.
For now, new head coach David Culley will be in charge of not only Mills' development, but also the Mills-related positivity.
"We really love what he’s all about,'' Culley said. "We love all of the intangibles he has. He’s a pro-type NFL quarterback, and we feel good to have him. He’s smart. He can make all the throws, and we feel good and feel fortunate that we’re able to get him when we got him.''
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