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In the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans selected RB Dameon Pierce. The 5’10, 218 lb back out of the University of Florida wasn’t seen at the top of the class at his position. He only started one game in college in 2021 and names like Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, and James Cook were all players ranked above Pierce. Nevertheless, Houston used the 107th overall pick to secure Pierce for their team.
And he should be on your fantasy football team in 2022.
Pierce is a downhill runner who isn’t afraid to run over multiple defenders in his path. He is an absolute tank of a human that simultaneously shows balance and violence in his running style, which can be compared to that of Nick Chubb.
Ever since the start of training camp, the primary story out of Houston was the dominance of Dameon Pierce. The Texans don’t have a secure RB1 on their team with both Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead being the only other rostered running backs. Mack has never played a fully healthy season in his career and hasn’t looked the same since he tore his Achilles in 2020. He hasn’t had a full workload in over two years, so it shouldn’t be expected that he can carry this backfield.
Rex Burkhead was decent for the Texans last season but it can mostly be accredited to the fact that the Texans were depleted of any other backs. He is another guy who I’m not confident can carry a backfield and operate in every role he would need to on this offense. The Texans ranked 30th in team rushing yards in 2021, so there is nothing to really be impressed by from this running game last season. Burkhead is able to get yards on short third downs, but he isn’t a dynamic, game-changing type of player. The Texans do have one of those on their roster in Dameon Pierce.
Even though the Texans were bottom of the league in rushing yards last season, they made improvements during the off-season on the offensive line that will absolutely help them in 2022. A major piece of this was using one of their first-round picks on G Kenyon Green out of Texas A&M. Green saw his draft stock fluctuate, and this was mostly due to questions about his pass blocking. However, the strongest part of Green’s skill set is his run blocking. Green is listed on the Texans’ depth chart as an LG, so he’ll be paired next to Laremy Tunsil which should open up some nice running lanes for Pierce.
Texans’ offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton “praised” GM Nick Caserio for drafting Pierce. Hamilton’s offense is a West Coast style of offense which helps Pierce’s case even more, as this is a run-first style of offense. Additionally, Pierce didn’t take a snap in the Texans’ Week 2 preseason game against the Rams. This can only really mean one thing: Pierce is universally regarded as the best running back on this team by the coaching staff, and he’s going to be the starter.
Pierce currently has an ADP of around 124, making him the RB39. He is a player that is truly going to be a league winner. You don’t have to spend a premier or even a mid-round pick on him, and if what’s being reported about him in training camp is true, he is going to be an RB2 in fantasy football and even has the chance to produce at a high-end RB2, low-end RB1 level. He could not only be the best rookie running back in fantasy football but one of the best running backs in general. All signs point to Pierce booming in 2022, so don’t miss out on him.
