Can Former Gators RB Dameon Pierce Emerge as the Texans Lead Ball Carrier?

Former Gators ball carrier Dameon Pierce flashed potential to assume a heavy workload early in his Houston Texans career. Can that come in year one?

Photo: Dameon Pierce; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

Three former Florida Gators were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The first two, Kaiir Elam and Zachary Carter, went to contending franchises looking to patch the holes on the roster as they attempt to push for a Super Bowl.

The third, however, didn’t fall into one of the AFC’s rising powerhouses. Instead, running back Dameon Pierce finds himself as a piece in rebuilding the 4-13 Houston Texans under first-year head coach Lovie Smith.

While the team success isn’t likely to be elevated to the likes of the Bills and Bengals — the two teams his former cohorts now reside with — the individual success may be most favorable for Pierce’s situation.

The Texans have realized drastic change just a few years removed from offensive explosiveness with the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and Deshaun Watson lighting up the scoreboard through the air.

Seeing Hopkins infamously traded away as the sun set on Bill O’Brien’s tenure as head coach, Fuller leaving in free agency to the Dolphins the following season and Watson holding out of action in 2021 due to damning circumstances (requesting a trade from the franchise just weeks before sexual assault allegations began to pile up for the star quarterback), the Texans have been forced to retool the offense.

Now, acquiring major skill position players has been a focus.

Davis Mills — a third-round draft pick in 2021 — flashes the potential to take over as the franchise quarterback.

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks — who was traded to Houston from the Los Angeles Rams to mark the third time he was shopped in just seven NFL seasons at the point — enters the 2022 season as the Texans' undeniable top weapon for Mills to utilize.

His consistent production with the teams he has played for during his eight-year NFL career, paired with two seasons of high-level efficiency with the Texans, resulted in a contract extension this offseason.

However, outside of those two, H-Town is looking for emerging young offensive stars. That’s why the fourth-round pick of Pierce seems like such a monumental victory.

Related: Gators’ Dameon Pierce Fulfills ‘Lifelong Dream,’ Drafted by the Texans

During his career with the Gators, Pierce consistently proved to be one of the slipperiest yet most powerful running back the team had to offer.

Equipped with a short and stocky frame at 5-foot-10, 215 pounds, Pierce’s low center of gravity made it difficult for collegiate defenders to bring him down on first contact.

Excelling when working off tackle, Pierce — while he’s not necessarily a burner in the straight line despite running a solid 4.59 40-yard dash — plays with a mixture of viciousness, elusiveness and effort that maximizes the skillset he carries.

However, he’s not limited to his skills as a rusher.

Multiple times throughout his career, LSU in 2021 for example, Pierce showed a knack for exploiting the seams of opposing defenses in the passing game.

With a feel for finding the pocket in coverage, soft hands to haul in receptions and above-average yards after catch ability, Pierce enters the league with versatility in his favor. Not to mention his willingness to mix it up with pass rushers in pass protection.

His game, as a whole, is embodied by three V’s: vision, versatility and violence.

His underutilization with the Gators was a much-maligned aspect of an already underperforming Florida team in 2021. Recording just nine career games with 10 or more carries, Pierce still made do with the opportunities he received in the running back by committee system.

He recorded 1,806 yards and 23 touchdowns on 329 carries in 48 career games, averaging an impressive 5.5 yards per carry. Coupling that production on the ground with 45 receptions for 422 yards (9.4 yards per catch) and five touchdowns through the air, Pierce showed dynamic playmaking abilities with the ball in his hand.

That sentiment is supported by his average of one touchdown per seven touches a season ago.

If given a heavier workload during his collegiate career, there’s a good chance Pierce was being selected as the first or second running back in this year's draft class.

The biggest thing that hurt Pierce’s stock was the unknown. Houston will reign as the beneficiary.

Early on, Pierce will battle with Marlon Mack — who gets a fresh start after being replaced by Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis — and Rex Burkhead for snaps out of the Texans backfield.

Mack, the room's most proven veteran, will likely receive the bulk of carries when the season commences the second weekend of September as Pierce grows comfortable with the Texans' offense.

But, if Pierce continues his success as a rusher and receiver at the next level, he presents the Texans with a viable three-down option out of the backfield to work in tandem with the former Colt while Burkhead provides relief.

The desire for Texans general manager Nick Caserio to add reliable weapons in the draft happened with a rare starting-caliber player being selected in the fourth round.

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