The Houston Texans were atrocious running the football in 2021.
The 4-13 AFC South club managed to produce 3.4 yards per carry, the absolute fewest in the league last year. Houston only had one 100-yard rusher last season when Rex Burkhead had a stupendous outing against the Los Angeles Chargers in a 41-29 win in Week 16.
Houston went with older guys with accolades last year in Burkhead, David Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, and Mark Ingram. In 2022, the Texans ought to look for younger ball carriers to be the driving force behind their run game.
Enter former Florida running back Dameon Pierce.
According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, Pierce is arguably the best running back in the 2022 NFL draft class, and the former Gator proved his worth on a limited number of attempts.
With a player of Pierce’s usage profile, you’re going to have to extrapolate a lot when it comes to his ability to handle a higher workload at the NFL level. We don’t really know. We can put Pierce in less-than-favorable situations and see what shows up. What we do know is that, per Sports Info Solutions, Pierce had 39 carries last season with seven or more defenders in the box. On those 39 carries, he gained 169 yards, had 98 yards after contact, 12 touchdowns, three broken tackles, four missed tackles forced, and just eight stuffs when he was hit at or behind the line 19 times. Brad Roberts of Air Force led the NCAA in carries with seven or more defenders in the box last season with 214, so as with everything else in Pierce’s case, this is a small sample size.
Pierce also has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and also create something out of nothing — perfect for what Houston’s running scheme gave its backs last year.
The Texans are bringing back Royce Freeman along with Burkhead, which suggests the club will continue to rely on veterans at some level. However, general manager Nick Caserio must consider getting younger at the position, and Pierce would provide a combination of youth and talent.
