Texans Rookie RB Dameon Pierce Impressing Early On

Houston Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce has impressed teammate Rex Burkhead early on at training camp with his focus on details and ability to learn from mistakes.

Expectations are high for fourth-round running back Dameon Pierce who appears to be learning from his mistakes in his first training camp with the Houston Texans.

Every rookie is going to fall down or come up short on occasion, to begin with, but as in life, it's all about how you react. And veteran running back has praised Pierce's attitude in this department.

"He's really trying to learn as quickly as he can," Burkhead said. "I think the biggest thing for him, as a rookie you're going to make mistakes. That's just how it is. If you have one one day, try not to do it the next day, and he's done a great job of that. Just learning from things that maybe he didn't have all the way down the day before and coming back and showing, ‘Okay. I've got it down now. This is how to do it.'"

And it isn't just Pierce's ability to bounce back from mistakes that have impressed Burkhead, but also his focus on the finer details.

"He's come up to me on little details, too, which is huge," Burkhead said. "Usually if you're getting questioned about the big things, it's like, ‘Okay, yeah. There's that.’ But when you're asking some small details on routes and just run techniques or whatever, that's when you know someone is really locking in and picking it up quickly."

"Picking it up quickly" is exactly what the Texans need from the former Florida back, who joins a Texans backfield that has lacked a consistent threat the last couple of seasons when they've ranked in the bottom two in rushing yards.

Granted, the Texans did retain Burkhead who had a few solid performances last season, while also adding fellow veteran Marlon Mack who is expected to have a big role early on. While Mack is more than talented enough to be a productive starting back, his injury history leaves much to be desired. 

In the long term, the Texans need Pierce to work out, and given the size of the contract they handed him, it feels as if they expect he will.

It may be early days yet, but feedback from Burkhead coupled with reports out of training camp are promising. 

Perhaps Pierce could be the next feature back in Houston.