No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud embracing QB battle with Davis Mills in Houston

HOUSTON — While No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young has already been named the Carolina Panthers’ starting quarterback, the Houston Texans are taking things a bit slower with No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud.

The Panthers named Young the starter at the beginning of training camp last week, but Stroud is currently battling with Davis Mills for the starting role.

Stroud, however, isn’t comparing his circumstances to Young’s and isn’t focused on the competition.

“That’s my brother, man. I’m happy for him, but his situation is his situation, and mine is mine,” Stroud said. “I know that I gotta work on on my end and do whatever I have to do to make this team better. It’s not about the starter, who’s not the starter. It’s about getting better for Week 1 against Baltimore. Right now, we are building as a team. It’s not just falling individuals.”

Mills and Stroud have yet to separate in the battle through the first five practices. Mills has thrown two interceptions during team periods, while Stroud has had rookie moments of indecisiveness, which leads to him holding the ball too long and also throwing interceptions of his own — including a pick-six Monday by last year’s top pick, Derek Stingley Jr. But both have had junctures where they’ve pushed the ball down the field for big plays.

Coach DeMeco Ryans has Stroud and Mills splitting first-team reps.

“With C.J., I’ve seen just from the command of the huddle started with all the college players,” Ryans said. “Now, a lot of it is everybody’s looking to the sideline, and they see a signal or picture, and that’s their play. But here, we’re asking them to operate from a huddle, which is new, get in and make play calls, which play calls can be long and lengthy sometimes. There’s a lot of different terminology you have to learn. Seeing him grow in that area has been really good.”

Mills, a former third-round pick in 2021, felt good about his performance during the first week of camp but doesn’t allow his mind to focus on the battle.

“It’s been good,” Mills said. “I mean, I don’t think if you’re going out there thinking you’re in a competition every single day, that’s going to cloud some of your headspace. So my biggest focus is just going out there and doing the best I can do to show the coaches what I can do and go out there and perform.”

The Texans also signed Case Keenum this offseason to bring a veteran presence to the quarterbacks room. Keenum started his career with the Texans in 2013 and has played for several teams since, appearing in two games for the Buffalo Bills last season. Like Mills, all the QBs seem to be focused on improvement over a competition to start.

“I don’t want anything given to me. I want to earn everything,” Stroud said. “Davis is a great quarterback, and so is Case. And honestly, we’re not focused on that. We’re just focused on getting better and better and better because at the end of the day, if you focus on trying to do something extra or do this here and there, that’s when you start confusing yourself and doing what’s out of the playbook and making mistakes.

Regardless of where Stroud stands in the quarterback competition, Ryans has been thrilled by his rookie commitment.

“With C.J., the thing that has impressed me the most is his dedication to being as best as he can possibly be,” Ryans said. “He puts the work in not only when he’s here, everybody does, that’s a given. But what you see about C.J. is the work and the preparation he puts in when he’s not here. He’s a true football junkie. He loves football, he’s always watching football, and he’s always asking for extra cut-ups from our coaches.”