2023 Fantasy Football Player Profile: Dameon Pierce is one of NFL's most exciting rushers

• Dameon Pierce lived up to the hype as a rookie: He was one of the biggest ADP risers a season ago and proved to be worth the pick while he was healthy.
• The Houston Texans reworked their offense: Houston has a new coaching staff and several new players at skill positions, adding a lot of uncertainty to how their players will be utilized.
• Some changes will help Pierce: The coaching staff and changes to the offensive line should help Pierce regardless of how much playing time he receives.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The fantasy football outlook series takes an in-depth look at a single player’s fantasy outlook for the 2023 season.

Last updated: 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, July 25

Dameon Pierce‘s player outlook

Pierce proved to be one of the most exciting rushers in the league last season.

• He was drafted in the fourth round and was expected to serve as the backup to Marlon Mack.
• In his first preseason game, he ran five times for 49 yards with two avoided tackles. He earned a 90.0 PFF rushing grade and was given the starting job after that game.
• He was eased into action Week 1 but dominated playing time on first and second downs from Weeks 2-14.
• He landed on injured reserve after Week 14 with an ankle injury, which kept him out for the rest of the season.
• Pierce was excellent at making big plays. He avoided 0.286 tackles per attempt last season, which ranked first out of 31 running backs with at least 175 rushing attempts.
• He averaged 0.538 carries of 20 or more yards per game — sixth-most.
• This added up to 72.2 rushing yards per game, which ranked seventh among running backs.
• He scored the 14th-most fantasy points for an RB from Weeks 2-14.
• The biggest thing that held him back from bigger heights is his work as a receiver.
• Pierce’s 55.4 receiving grade last season ranked 11th-worst among 37 running backs with at least 200 routes run.
• His yards per reception of 5.3 were fourth-lowest despite avoiding 16 tackles which was sixth-most.
• He could certainly improve as a receiver, but it’s unlikely he becomes one of the better receiving backs in the league.