- 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.
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