Davis Compton Mills (born October 21, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

and was selected by the Texans in the third round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

. Mills became Houston's starter during his first season and set the franchise record for rookie passing yards.

Early years

Mills was born on October 21, 1998, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, later attending Greater Atlanta Christian School in

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area. History ...

. During his career, he passed for 6,290 yards and 66 touchdowns. He was selected to the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, but was unable to play due to an injury. A five-star recruit, Mills was ranked as the top quarterback in his class. He committed to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

to play college football.

College career

Mills

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

ed his freshman year for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

in 2017. In 2018, he appeared in one game as a backup to K. J. Costello. He entered 2019 as a backup to Costello, but started six of eight games after Costello was injured. Against

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, he set a school record with 504 passing yards. He finished the 2019 season completing 158 of 241 passes for 1,960 yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Mills played in five games during Stanford's pandemic-shortened 2020 season, completing 129 of 195 passes for 1,508 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

Professional career

Mills was selected 67th overall by the

in the third round of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $5.2 million, with the Texans on May 26, 2021.

2021

Due to incumbent starting quarterback

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players ...

being ruled inactive, Mills was named the second option behind

Tyrod Taylor Tyrod Diallo Taylor (born August 3, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Virginia Tech, leading the Hokies to the 2009 Orange Bowl as a Sophomore ...

. He made his NFL debut during the second half of the Week 2 game against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

after Taylor was injured, throwing for 102 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the 31–21 defeat. Mills made his starting debut against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

the following week, in which he threw for 168 yards and a touchdown. The Texans subsequently lost 20–9. In Week 4, Mills struggled against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, completing 11 of 21 passes for 87 yards and four interceptions in a 40–0 shutout defeat. Mills rebounded the following week when he completed 21 of 29 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. However, the Texans lost 25–22 after surrendering a 22–9 lead in the third quarter. Mills resumed his backup duties after Taylor returned in Week 5, but ineffective performances from Taylor led to Mills replacing him during a 31–0 shutout defeat in Week 13 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. Following the game, Mills was announced as the starter for the remainder of the season. Mills won his first NFL game during Week 15 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, completing 19 of 30 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the 30–16 victory. He helped lead the Texans to a 41–29 upset over the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

the following week, but the game marked the Texans' final victory for the season. Despite winning only two games, Mills set the franchise record for rookie passing yards at 2,664. His 16 touchdowns and 66.8 completion percentage were also the second-highest among rookie quarterbacks in 2021, behind

Mac Jones Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones (born September 5, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at University of Alabama, Alabama, where he set the Nationa ...

2022

With Watson traded to the

and the departure of Taylor, Mills was named the Texans' starter for 2022. He began the season against the

, completing 23 of 37 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. The game ended in a 20–20 tie, the first in franchise history for the Texans. After a Week 11 loss to the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, Mills was benched in favor of

Kyle Allen Kyle Allen (born March 8, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, he played high school football at Desert Mountain and was among the top football ...

for the Texans Week 12 matchup against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. After starting two games where he struggled, Allen was benched in favor of Mills.

NFL career statistics

Records and achievements

Texans franchise records

*Most passing yards in a season by a rookie: 2,664 (2021) *Highest completion percentage in a season by a rookie: 66.8% (2021)

References

External links

*
Houston Texans bioStanford Cardinal bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Davis 1998 births Living people People from Duluth, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football quarterbacks Stanford Cardinal football players Houston Texans players