What You Need to Know:

• Mills, a former top recruit, started only 11 games at Stanford.
• At 6’4, 217 pounds, he showed an ability to make all of the throws. His mobility is close to non-existent, though. He has a history of issues with his left knee.
• A 2021 Round 3 pick, Mills saw the field with Deshaun Watson sitting out and fill-in Tyrod Taylor suffering an early-season injury.
• Mills started from Weeks 3-8 but was largely overmatched.
• A struggling Taylor was benched from Week 14 on. Mills stepped in with a decent 74.6% adjusted completion rate over the final 5 games. That ranked 19th among 31 QBs with 350+ dropbacks.
• Overall, Mills finished as a QB1 4 times, adding a QB13 finish.
• Houston passed on adding a rookie QB in the draft. Mills will be the guy for new HC Lovie Smith.
• Smith praised Mills over the offseason, saying he believes Mills will be an “excellent” QB. “Having a year, he and [offensive coordinator] Pep Hamilton getting on the same page with our offense, and him being in a role from the start, that’s different also. But that’s what you do. You have a chance for him to establish himself as one of our primary leaders each day.”
• The Texans added John Metchie in the draft. Coming off a December ACL tear, he’s unlikely to be an early-season factor.
• Brandin Cooks returns following his 6th 1,000-yard season over the past 7 years. Nico Collins brings some sneaky breakout appeal as a 2nd-year Round 3 pick.
• The TE spot doesn’t have any established presence, but 2nd-year man Brevin Jordan brings a pass-first skill set and ended 2021 strong.
• Houston’s O-line ranked just 23rd in PFF’s pass-blocking grade last year.
• A now-healthy Laremy Tunsil and a couple of new arrivals — including Round 1 OG Kenyon Green — signals likely improvement.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

A Round 3 rookie, Mills was thrown into the fire early on. He flopped — predictably — on an offense that didn’t provide much support.

Given another chance late in the season, though, Mills flashed starter-quality ability.

But that was as a passer. Mills posted only 44 rushing yards across 13 total appearances.

That lack of rushing upside — and a still largely unproven supporting cast — keeps the young passer buried in the ranks.