Davis Mills’ crash course on the Texans’ playbook and the rhythm of the NFL are proceeding well, a smooth initiation where he’s absorbing a ton of knowledge.
For the strong-armed third-round draft pick from Stanford, these initial steps as a professional athlete are critically important. Mills has hit the ground running during organized team activities.
“I feel like I’ve done pretty well so far,” Mills said Saturday during a TriStar Productions autograph show at NRG Arena. “Obviously, it’s a new experience for me. Being in Houston, meeting all of the new teammates and coaches, I’ve definitely learned a lot so far. They’ve kind of thrown a lot at us pretty fast, so I’ve had to pick it up fast, at least what I could.
“We all kind of know this is the period where we’re all getting back into shape and really getting the feel of our teammates and route timing and the feel of the offense. It’s been great so far.”
The Texans are encouraged by the early returns on Mills. They like what they’ve seen from his approach to practice and meetings and how he’s thrown the football.
Mills’ arm strength, size and classic throwing mechanics are rare and intriguing enough that several NFL general managers and scouts have stated privately he would have likely been a high first-round draft pick next year if he had remained at Stanford for his senior year.
The Atlanta native declared early, though, and was the eighth quarterback drafted overall following Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Kyle Trask and Kellen Mond.
A former blue-chip recruit from Atlanta who chose Stanford over Alabama and Michigan after passing for 34 touchdowns and one interception as a senior, Mills is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and has run the 40-yard dash in 4.81 seconds.
Playing in just five games last season, he was an honorable-mention All-Pac-12 selection who passed for 1,508 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He set a single-game school record with a 504-yard performance against Washington State. As a sophomore, he passed for 1,960 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Although Mills only started 11 games at Stanford due to a knee injury, he showed enough to impress the Texans and be drafted 67th overall. Playing for David Shaw at Stanford, Mills is well-prepared for the NFL.
“It was tremendously helpful,” he said. “What I did at Stanford was a lot of pro-style systems, so it’s not necessarily the same exact verbiage as we have in Houston. A lot of the base concepts at Stanford allowed me to come in with a little bit of a head start.”
Mills is meshing well with Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly and quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton.
“I love it,” he said “They’ve been great so far. They definitely have a lot to teach me.”
He’s getting to know Texans coach David Culley.
“He’s a great coach,” Mills said. “He knows so much. We’re in OTAs and I haven’t had a lot of one-on-one time with him yet. I look forward to that. Obviously, he knows what he’s doing.”
Mills is learning behind former Pro Bowl quarterback Tyrod Taylor, 31, a 10-year veteran.
“A lot of it is just knowledge of the game, that takes a little bit of time to learn,” Mills said. “He has loads of it. Another part about him is his professionalism and how he comes in and works every day. I look up to him and I’m definitely looking forward to getting the opportunity to learn under him.”
Mills chose Stanford partially because it’s where former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck played. He patterns his game after several NFL quarterbacks, including Luck, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.
Signed to a four-year contract worth $5.22 million that includes a $1.157 million signing bonus, Mills was excited about his first NFL business transaction.
“It was a little surreal, something you dream about since you were a little kid,” Mills said. “You think of the business side of football. When you put the pen down on paper, it’s pretty cool.”
For Mills, it hasn’t truly sunk in so much that he’s an NFL player as he’s been too busy learning to soak up the moment.
“I think that, ‘oh wow’ moment hasn’t really hit yet because I’ve had so much on my plate,” he said. “It’s really hard to realize what I’m truly going through. I’m obviously extremely humble about that experience. I look forward to the next few years in Houston.”
It’s refreshing to Mills that what allowed him to be successful in college is translating to the NFL.
“The cool part about the game of football is it’s just a game and I’ve been playing it since I was 6 years old,” Mills said. “A lot of it is the same. I have new teammates to connect with and a new offense to learn. I have a lot on my plate to learn.”
As a rookie, Mills isn’t setting any statistical goals just yet or talking about playing time. He’s concentrating on just being as prepared as possible for whatever is asked of him.
“I mean, I wouldn’t say any goals on the field,” he said. “I have a lot to prove and a lot to prove to myself, too. Learn the offense is the No. 1 goal right now.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 years and has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128