NORCROSS, Ga. — The Houston Texans’ 2021 draft class is in an interesting position entering their second year.
Rarely does one see an NFL draft class as small as only five selections, especially on a rebuilding team. Even more rarely are all five of those players projected to start during their second year in the league. However, that’s exactly the case for this group.
Nico Collins is expected to start at boundary receiver across from Brandin Cooks, Roy Lopez at the nose tackle, Brevin Jordan at tight end, and of course Davis Mills under center. Even Garret Wallow, largely relegated to special teams last season, has been the talk of Houston’s defense this summer and is expected to make a strong push to start at the strong side linebacker position.
It’s been a relatively fairytale story for a draft class that was muddled in surround controversy last off-season. When the five were selected, the Texans were in the midst of a PR battle regarding their hiring of Nick Caserio, the retention of executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby, and the trade request of Deshaun Watson.
The season evolved into a 4-12 campaign that included the shocking revelation of 24 sexual assault allegations against Watson that, in collaboration with his trade request, forced the quarterback out for the season. Coach David Culley, who was also a rookie, was fired after one season and replaced by defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.
I asked Davis Mills about his relationship with the 4 other members of the 2021 class
"We’re a really tight class. Obviously, we came in and we only had a five-man draft class. We went through a lot together and had to go through some tough experiences as rookies."#WeAreTexans
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) July 2, 2022
Needless to say, the rookie class has been through a lot and at the “The Davis Mills Quarterback Challenge,” Mills acknowledged the struggles that they’ve been through.
I think we’re a really tight class. Obviously, we came in and we only had a five-man draft class. We went through a lot together and had to go through some tough experiences as rookies. I think the team has done a really great job and we’ve done a great job ourselves in trying to become the players we want to be.
Not every rookie class has to go through their head coach being fired, much less all the other controversy that surrounded the Houston Texans in the past calendar year. However, it would appear the team has come out all the better for it.
Mills, in conjunction with his fellow 2021 classmates, will need to be foundational blocks of their respective units if Houston wants to improve next season. They’ve put the work in and persevered through the adversity, and the upcoming season will bear the results.
