Texans HC David Culley: Davis Mills 'what a quarterback in the NFL is all about'

Due to the legal drama surrounding Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, along with Watson’s insistence that he would never play another snap for the Texans, Houston has made several high-profile additions to its QB room. The team signed veteran Tyrod Taylor in March and then used its first choice in the 2021 draft (No. 67 overall) on Stanford signal-caller Davis Mills.

Obviously, there is no way to know when Watson’s legal situation will be wrapped up. There may or may not have been recent settlement talks between his legal team and the team representing the 22 women who have filed lawsuits against him, but even a best-case scenario for Watson — a dismissal of the suits (which isn’t happening) or a quick settlement that allows him to escape a major financial hit — still leaves the Texans in a bind because of Watson’s previous trade demands.

A settlement, along with minimal or no punishment from the league, would at least allow Watson’s trade market to heat back up. One way or another, it appears that the Texans will be rolling with either Taylor or Mills when the 2021 regular season opens, and new head coach David Culley had a lot of good things to say about Mills during a press conference on Saturday.

Culley said, via the Texans’ PR department:

“Davis Mills, I thought [GM Nick Caserio‘s] staff did a great job of all of a sudden earmarking a guy that fit what a quarterback in the NFL is all about. Obviously he didn’t play as much football as some of the other guys because of the COVID situation in the Pac-12, but we really love what he’s all about. 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.”

The Texans would presumably like for Mills to beat out Taylor for the starting job so that they can get a complete picture of what the rookie can do and set their 2022 priorities accordingly. But when Culley was asked how important it is to give Mills ample playing time this season, the head coach had something of a predictable answer:

“We’re not looking at it like that. We’re looking at it like there’s going to be competition at all positions. This is a new football team here. Basically, we’ve created competition all around this football team. Not just at the quarterback position, but basically at all positions.”

At least one NFL scouting director believes Mills could have been a first-round pick in 2022 if he had stayed in school, so there is some cause for optimism for a franchise that appears to be headed for a major rebuild. 

“Davis Mills, man, the ball comes out of his hand really nice,” the scouting director said, via veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. “His release quickness is really good. 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. Very intriguing.”

When asked specifically about Watson, Culley said, “We have nothing to say about that situation at this time.”