Davis Mills NFL Draft Overview
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6’4
Weight: 225
School: Stanford
Davis Mills Draft Profile
Davis Mills is the classic prospect where you wish you had just gotten to see more. As a young player, he was a consensus five-star prospect and number one quarterback in the country out of Grater Atlanta Christian school in Georgia. He spurned hometown University of Georgia to go to Stanford, believing that their pro-style offense would better suit his journey to the pros.
Things didn’t go according to plan as he suffered knee injuries his first two years on campus, stunting his development in an already complex system. By the time he was healthy and ready to play, he had been surpassed in the pecking order by K.J. Costello. During the 2019 season, Costello suffered a hand injury, paving the way for Mills to finally get his chance to start. He didn’t disappoint in limited action in 2019, throwing for 1070 yards and six touchdowns in three games to close out the year.
COVID-19 obviously hurt a lot of prospects but none more-so than Mills, who came into 2020 as the true incumbent for the Cardinal. Not only did COVID knock him out of Stanford’s huge opener against #12 Oregon, but limited Stanford’s schedule to only six games total. In the five games Mills was able to play he completed 66.2% of his passes for 1508 yards and seven touchdowns against three interceptions.
Strengths
- Operated a true under center pro-style offense;
- Has incredible touch to all areas of the field, being able to layer throws over underneath defenders;
- Extremely clean footwork with a quick, no-wasted-movements delivery;
- Very good anticipatory thrower, often making throws well before the receiver makes his break;
- Accurate to all areas of the field but excels in the short to intermediate middle areas of the field;
- Has very good arm strength, not elite but easily one of the best in this class;
Weaknesses
- Once knocked off his spot can be inaccurate;
- Rhythm thrower where if the timing is off, he can sail balls that should be completed;
- Lack of gradable games, Mills only had 11 starts in his college career, less than a normal full season of games;
- Deep, outside the numbers accuracy leaves a little to be desired;
- Can force throws when the receiver is not open albeit Stanford had very little in terms of playmakers.
NFL Comparison: Jimmy Garoppolo
Projection: Rounds 2-5
Teams With Need at Position (Project): Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons
Last Word on Davis Mills
Davis Mills is a former high pedigreed high school player who lost his way due to outside factors. If he is drafted by a team with an established starter and allowed to sit, then there is no reason he can’t be a starting caliber quarterback within two years. He has all the traits found in elite quarterbacks at the NFL level. The only areas he needs improvement in are the areas that typically are refined with game experience and reps.
All in all, Mills is a prospect worth a middle round draft pick just based off the potential alone. We have seen players with very little experience have some level of success at the NFL level. Injuries ravaged Stanford’s roster over the last two seasons losing many key starters. They were still able to be productive on offense and win big games with Mills under center. If Millx can clean up the consistency and quite frankly just get more reps, he should be a very solid starter with pro bowl traits.
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