CBS Sports predicts Davis Mills' play in 2022 doesn't convince Texans he is QB1

The Houston Texans are giving Davis Mills the 2022 season to prove he is worthy of being a franchise quarterback. However, Mills may not be able to convince the Texans to place their trust in him for the long haul.

According to Chris Trapasso from CBS Sports, who released his predictions for second-year quarterbacks, Mills will play a tad better than he did in 2021, but it still won’t be enough to chase general manager Nick Caserio from targeting a first-round quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft.

While playing with only average athleticism, Mills is dangerous to opposing defenses because of his high-end arm talent and quality accuracy down the football field. He’ll play similarly to how he did as a rookie — with marked albeit small statistical improvement. While it won’t be an encouraging enough season for Houston to shy away from a quarterback in the first round of the 2023 draft, Mills will play his way into a quarterback competition next season, maybe even on another team.

Trapasso isn’t a hater or focused on teams that garner more media attention as he acknowledges Mills was his highest-graded rookie quarterback in 2021.

Caserio told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] on June 16 that Mills had shown signs of improvement over the course of a year, and that training camp and preseason would reveal more.

“Overall I would say from he was, call it a year ago, to where he is now, he’s certainly a lot further along,” said Caserio. “So, I think the preseason and the training camp will be another opportunity, not only for him, but the whole team to see if we can kind of build on some of the things that we’ve done here over the last however many weeks it’s been.”

If Mills isn’t playing well enough to show the Texans he can be a solid starting quarterback, it may also mean Houston is picking in the top-5 for the second straight year.