In 2021, the Houston Texans had the worst running attack in the league, rushing for an NFL-low 83.6 yards per game and a woeful 3.4 yards per carry. Although they were only marginally better last year, increasing those numbers to 86.6 yards per game (31st) and 3.7 yards per carry (31st), at least they won’t be starting from scratch again as running back Dameon Pierce proved to be a nice find as a fourth-round selection in the 2022 draft.
Clearly, more help was needed, however, and for that the Texans dipped into the free-agent waters and came away with former Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary, who signed a one-year deal in March. Plus, in a lower profile move, RB Mike Boone, most recently of the Denver Broncos, inked a two-year contract. That affords the running back room more depth than it’s had in years.
The hirings of head coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, both of whom worked under head coach Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers, certainly means a stronger commitment to the run is on the way. With that in mind, here’s an early look at Houston’s backfield contingent.
Dameon Pierce
The No. 1 question about Pierce coming out of Florida was his ability to carry the load, having never been the featured back during his career with the Gators. He seized the top job early as a rookie, though, and ran effectively before defenses simply decided to stack the box and dare QB Davis Mills to beat them (spoiler: he couldn’t). Pierce suffered a high ankle sprain in December, and the team elected to shut him down for the final four weeks.
Even with the added depth, Pierce is still expected to operate as the lead back. He probably won’t get the same percentage of carries, but if the group is more effective Pierce should be able to exceed last year’s production even with fewer touches. Appearing in 13 games, the then-rookie accumulated 1,104 total yards and five TDs. Projected across 17 games, that would’ve been 1,444 yards and 6.5 scores.
Devin Singletary
In four years with the Bills, Singletary averaged 788 yards rushing, 243 yards receiving, and five combined TDs per season. While he led Buffalo in rushing in each of those four seasons, Singletary was never used as a true lead back, always ceding a healthy number of carries to someone like James Cook or Zack Moss, not to mention the number of rushing attempts QB Josh Allen accrued, especially near the goal line. That he had to settle on a one-year deal illustrates how other teams around the league see him as a complementary piece as well.
Given what their depth has looked like in recent years, Singletary represents a nice acquisition for Houston, giving them another three-down option to line up behind rookie No. 2 overall pick QB C.J. Stroud. Barring injury, he should back up Pierce in 2023 but fill a meaningful role.
Mike Boone
Boone is a bit of an odd case. He’s spent five years in the NFL, three with the Minnesota Vikings and a pair with Denver, and has a career average of 5.2 yards per carry. He seems to perform well when given the chance, but with just 117 combined touches across 57 career games he’s clearly never shown enough to make teams want to expand his role. Boone should serve as an emergency backup option in case of injury, though Dare Ogunbowale also is on the roster.
Fantasy football outlook
Although Ryans has referred to Pierce and Singletary as a “one-two punch,” it certainly appears that Pierce will function as the No. 1a back with a healthy dose of Singletary sprinkled in. That both players can handle three-down work is a boost since they won’t be pigeonholed based on down and distance. Still, Pierce is three years younger and has more upside on paper, especially if he can take the all-important second-year leap.
On draft day, you can view Pierce as a low-end RB2 and borderline top-20 back. Singletary would be best viewed as a No. 4 back who provides solid depth with RB3/flex upside. Boone can be bypassed.
