NFL fantasy diamonds for 2022 - Running backs

Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce

Trust me on this one, I struggled with listing Dameon Pierce here. I want people to stay quiet on him, keep his ADP low and then just draft him in the double-digit rounds of every single one of my fantasy leagues.

There are several misnomors around the Houston Texans' running game and their backfield situation. First of all, there’s no denying that Houston's game was very underwhelming in 2021. They finished dead-last in the NFL with just 83.6 rushing yards per game and an underwhelming 3.4 yards per carry. They only cracked 100-yards in three games.

Secondly, their snap share and touch distribution at the RB position was a mess in the 2021 NFL campaign. Their top five backs handled 147, 99, 99, 53 and 42 touches. There was very little consistency throughout the year, they added and cut names and basically you couldn’t put any of those in your lineup.

Finally, the offense as a whole had a tough time moving the ball and didn’t put it in the paint often enough. Their 16.5 points per game were the third-fewest in the NFL and only seven of those were contributed by the RB position.

Here are my counter-points to that. The Texans got back a Pro Bowl left tackle in Laremy Tunsil, brought over A.J. Cann from Jacksonville, who's a much better run-blocker than pass-protector, and they drafted the biggest mauler at guard in the draft in Kenyon Green from Texas A&M. So expect the unit to be at least average.

As far as the offense goes as a whole, Davis Mills isn’t entering the NFL season as a third-round pick who should sit behind Tyrod Taylor and not get any reps. Instead, he's the unquestioned starter who has a chance to establish himself as the long-term option.

Pierce is a superior talent to anything they had on the roster last year as the second pick of day three in the NFL draft. He was heavily underutilized in Florida this past season, but his efficiency was off the charts. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry and 11.4 yards per catch, scoring on 16 of his 119 total touches. He led the FBS in PFF rushing grade and with a missed tackle rate of 0.39 per attempt.

Rex Burkhead, who led this backfield in touches, is still there, but he averaged only 4.2 yards per touch. They did bring over Marlon Mack from Indy, who is a solid player, but he was basically shelved by the Indianapolis Colts last season and has yet to show he’s back from that ruptured achilles.

I believe Pierce has all the skills to be an every-down back in the NFL. He's got the power to run through tackles, the wiggle to make people miss after the catch and the punch to neutralize blitzers on third down.

Let's just not talk too much about him, so people don't snatch him away from me in drafts!