The Detroit Lions aren’t as much of a slam-dunk to pick first overall in April as they were, and the Houston Texans are clearly coming for them.
In an otherwise dismal season, the Detroit Lions can look forward to having two first-round picks in April and fans have been able to get hyped about the likelihood of having the No. 1 overall pick.
The Lions are now 1-10-1 after beating the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13. The dueling horrible teams in the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, are 2-10 with a game left against each other in Week 15 that one will win (barring a tie of course).
While the Lions are playing at a competitive level as head coach Dan Campbell tries to install a new culture, the Jaguars and even moreso the Texans may not even be trying to win. Even with Tyrod Taylor (wrist) banged up, the Texans have pushed all their chips to the middle of the tanking table.
Could the Lions lose the No. 1 overall pick to the Texans?
On Friday morning, the Texans head coach David Culley announced Davis Mills will be their starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
“I felt like he gives us the best chance to win,” Culley said at a press conference.
The rookie third-round pick out of Stanford has played in eight games so far this season, making six starts when Taylor was on IR. He has completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 1,407 yards, with seven touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 78.4 passer rating.
Mills giving the Texans a better chance to win feels like a stretch. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has it right, even if it’s really #CaptainObvious.
The Texans are tanking.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) December 10, 2021
The Texans have been undermanned and lacked spark all season, so it’s not a reach to say tanking has been an unspoken thing from the start. Friday’s decision to go with Mills as the starting quarterback for the final five games is a proverbial shot across the bow of the Lions in the race for the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft. They’re coming to get it, and they aren’t hiding it.
5 Detroit Lions free agents who won’t be back in 2022
Looking head to the offseason and the new league year in March, these five free agents will not be back with the Detroit Lions in 2022.