TEXANS TIMELINE
Here's what this insanely too early 2023 mock draft could mean for Davis Mills, Texans
Sep 2, 2022, 2:04 pm
The pressure is on Davis Mills to perform this season. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
If a picture is worth a thousand words ... here's a pick that's worth a whole season of bar arguments, second guessing and endless hours of talk show chatter.
The Athletic, published its insanely too early 2023 NFL mock draft. They used a combination of Vegas projected win totals, evaluations of top prospects, analysis of team needs, and plain old guesswork.
First of all, publishing a mock draft before most colleges have played a single down of football is one step below watching the Bachelorette Below Deck on Love Island, who's gonna wind up in bed with the No. 1 pick?
But look at who's drafting No. 2 and who they're taking in the Athletic's crystal ball draft: Houston Texans select C.J. Stroud, quarterback, Ohio State.
Think what that means. For starters, the Athletic is saying that the Texans will have the second-worst record in the NFL for the upcoming season. Even more telling, they have the Texans taking a quarterback, which implies that current Texans quarterback, second-year Davis Mills will have a disappointing sophomore year forcing the Texans to draft another signal caller. Which means back to the drawing board for the franchise.
Which means more disappointment, more chaos and turmoil, more fan apathy, more complaining, more calls for Cal McNair to sell the team, more half-empty stands at NRG Stadium and more pleas for Jack Easterby to pack his bags and get out of Houston. The only thing missing is a big tarp covering the upper deck.
How's that for one imaginary pick? If the Athletic wanted to stir it up in Houston, they sure did.
Eight quarterbacks were taken in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL draft - a record. They were:
1. Trevor Lawrence - Jaguars.
2. Zach Wilson - Jets.
3. Trey Lance - '49ers.
11. Justin Fields - Bears.
15. Mac Jones - Patriots
64. Kyle Trask - Buccaneers.
66. Kellen Mond - Vikings.
67. Davis Mills - Texans.
You can make an argument that Mills out-performed the other seven quarterbacks last year. I'm not talking about potential, just who did the best in 2021. Mills threw 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, with an 88.8 passer rating for a dreadful team. As Larry David would say, pretty pretty pretty good.
Yes, Jones had numbers (22 TDs, 13 interceptions) but he’s really, at least so far, a system quarterback who dinks the ball. Lawrence (12 TDs, 17 interceptions) and Wilson (9 TDs, 11 interceptions) played poorly with awful teams and in Lawrence's case, an imbecilic head coach. Fields (7 TDs, 10 interceptions) showed flashes but little consistency. Mond, Lance, and Trask didn’t need to shower after games.
Meanwhile Davis had one of the top efficiency ratings on deep balls, played admirably and did the best with the least. He is the unchallenged QB1 for the Texans heading into this year. And yet the Athletic has the Texans tossing him aside next year.
While the Athletic has the Texans picking a quarterback, they have the Jets taking a pass rusher, Bears (cornerback), Jaguars (wide receiver), Patriots (defensive tackle), Vikings (linebacker), and Buccaneers (pass rusher). Notable that the Vikings are steering clear of a quarterback even though they've already released Mond.
Ironically, reports say the Texans really wanted Mond in the 2021 draft but the Vikings beat them to the punch by one position.
They say that sometimes the best phones calls are the ones you don't make. Same for draft picks.
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Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
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