We had a jam-packed Friday night show this week, and the highlight was sitting down with Davis Mills at Media Day. Entering his sixth NFL season, Davis is now the longest-tenured position player on this roster, and he carries that distinction with the kind of quiet confidence that has defined his entire career.
When John and I asked Davis what advice he would give to his rookie self, he didn't hesitate. "Take in as much as you can," Mills said. "You're going to be swimming in information and doing a lot of things that maybe you've never done before, but you've got to kind of step into the fire. Really come in, try to get as comfortable as you can as fast as possible."
That fire showed up in a big way last season when Davis had to step in and lead this team through some critical wins. The Jacksonville game was the one that stands out. He threw an early interception but never blinked. "I knew my process was good," Mills told us. "I saw what the defense was doing. Props to their DB, he made a really good play. But coming off the sideline, all you can do is smile and be like, all right, let's get them on this next drive."
And then he started dealing. The seam ball to Nico Collins on four verticals — Davis called it his favorite play in football — was one of those throws that makes you sit up in the booth. "There was a little gap if I hit back shoulder right over top of Lloyd's head," Mills explained. "It's undefendable. Because he's never going to get his eyes to that spot." That is the kind of detail and precision you want from your quarterback room.
What got me most excited was what Davis had to say about Year 2 under OC Nick Caley. "Light years ahead of where we were last year," Mills said without hesitation. "It's always nice going into year two of an offense instead of having to fully install the entire thing for the first time. Coach Caley's done a great job really taking the insight of all of his players, especially us in the QB room, really building the offense around us and around C.J."
Davis also had nothing but praise for QB coach Jerry Schuplinski. "He's been great. Nothing but respect and good things to say about him. Knows the offense extremely well, and he does a great job coaching and kind of portraying his knowledge to us as players."
Off the field, Davis became a dad in January and says life is on cruise control with a son who started sleeping through the night at seven weeks. The golf game? Ka'imi Fairbairn still has him by a stroke. "I would give it to him," Mills laughed. "Eight days out of ten."
Training Camp presented by Xfinity opens August 1 at the Houston Methodist Training Center. The 25th season of Texans football is almost here, and after talking to Davis Mills, I can tell you this team is ready.
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