Texans' Davis Mills has second-worst situation for a second-year QB

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills has been given a little more protection, a couple more weapons, and a young running back to add to the stable.

However, the upgrades weren’t enough.

According to Sam Monson from Pro Football Focus, Mills is entering the 2022 season with the second-worst situation among second-year quarterbacks. His receivers were given a C, his protection a C-minus, and his coaching a C-plus.

The team locked down Brandin Cooks and added John Metchie III from Alabama in the second round of the draft. If 2021 rookie Nico Collins can take a step forward in Year 2, that could quietly become a useful receiving group for Mills.

The offensive line is a much bigger issue, and even with a first-round addition in guard Kenyon Green from Texas A&M, it’s a unit that may struggle overall. A.J. Cann has been a below-average starter overall since 2016, with sub-65.0 overall PFF grades in four of the past five seasons. The team needs to get unexpectedly positive play out of Cann or Tytus Howard at right tackle to boost this line.

The offensive line is as good as it has been in at least five years with Laremy Tunsil returning at left tackle. Howard playing right tackle is precisely where the former 2019 first-round pick needs to be, and the club picked up his fifth-year option. The only dubious aspects to the line are Cann and center Justin Britt.

The run game was not mentioned at all in Monson’s evaluation, but it bears mentioning. The club invested a fourth-round pick in Florida’s Dameon Pierce, who is a hard runner. The Texans will have a commitment to get the run game going to help out Mills.

“The one thing that you’re always going to look at, I’m going to look at is what is our yards per carry,” offensive line coach George Warhop told reporters on Feb. 22. “I want that to be above 4.3, 4.4, somewhere in there.”

Houston was the worst in the NFL with 3.4 yards per carry and 83.6 rushing yards per game. Any rookie quarterback who look horrendous, even a third-rounder from Stanford.

The quarterback with the best situation was Zach Wilson with the New York Jets. The Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields was rated as having the worst situation for a second-year signal caller.