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The Chicago Bears may have signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton and told him he was the starter moving forward, but that hasn’t stopped them from exploring other options at the position. Just as the ink was drying on Dalton’s contract last week, the Bears had multiple scouts, along with quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, present at Stanford’s Pro Day last week to get a closer look at quarterback Davis Mills.
Per Adam Hoge of NBC Sports: “Davis Mills began a throwing session at his pro day in Stanford, Calif. with Bears quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo standing closely behind. At one point during the throwing session, DeFilippo even requested a specific throw — a seam route under pressure against single-high safety coverage — and Mills delivered.”
The Bears also had a strong presence at North Dakota State’s Pro Day, where general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy watched projected top 10 pick Trey Lance throw. With Chicago’s options at quarterback dried up in free agency, it’s looking like the team may be turning to the draft to find a quarterback. Could Mills be the guy?
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Davis Mills Stats: A Closer Look at the Stanford QB
The primary criticism surrounding Mills is significant and valid: He has 11 career starts. A five-star quarterback out of Greater Atlanta Christian, Mills was the top-rated quarterback in the nation coming out in 2017. A recurring knee injury limited him coming out of high school and during his first few years at Stanford, but he took over the starting job in 2019 and hasn’t looked back.
In his five starts in a shortened Pac-12 season last year, Mills completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,512 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions and a rating of 94.6. In his limited time as a starter, Mills has completed 65.5 percent of his passes for a total of 3,468 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 491 drop backs.
The 22-year-old quarterback is quick in his decision-making, and his arm is excellent. He has also shown a keen ability to make plays:
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Mills’ Draft Stock Was Helped By Stellar Pro Day Performance
The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said this about Mills’ Pro Day performance last week, via 247 Sports: “A lot of pressure on Davis Mills – a limited number of starts, no combine, no all-star game opportunities – this was his one shot and I thought he crushed it. He crushed it from the testing numbers that we got and I thought it was a clean, really pure throwing session that he put on in the rain. The day could not have gone any better today for Davis Mills.”
Mills ran impressive 40-yard dash times of 4.66 and 4.58 seconds, and he went 50-54 during his throwing session — the same session DeFilippo watched closely.
“I feel that I put together a comprehensive script – 53 throws where I was kind of doing a little bit of everything. I felt I showed what I can do. Really, it was just nice to get out here in front of some coaches and perform,” Mills said about his Pro Day performance, adding:
“I think I have the ability to make all the throws needed at the next level. I’ve been one of those guys who just shows consistency and shows that I can do that throw in and throw out and not have those off throws.”
Right now, Mills is projected to be drafted on Day 2 or Day 3, and I could see the Bears taking a chance on him in the mid rounds. The 6’4″, 225-pound quarterback likely won’t come NFL-ready due to his limited experience, but many are high on his potential.
“He’s going to be a starter. He was a big-time player coming out, but he just hasn’t been healthy, which is the only reason he never became a bigger name,” a West Coast scout told NFL.com. Where Mills goes in the draft remains a question mark, but there will be several teams watching him, including the 49ers, who have already expressed interest in the young signal-caller. Now, the biggest question is whether or not the Bears like him enough to spend their first draft pick on a quarterback since they selected Mitch Trubisky with the second overall pick in 2017.
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