Which Texans RB Dameon Pierce Stat 'Sums Up His Brilliance'
When an NFL franchise finds an immediate impact player in the fourth round the way the Houston Texans did last season it can help accelerate a rebuilding team's rise to relevancy.
Joined this year by a brand new quarterback and edge rusher as first-round rookie teammates, Texans running back Dameon Pierce is looking to show he can be the dominant player all NFL teams covet despite what the market activity says about the position.
"A top Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate before missing the [last] four games of last season with an ankle injury, Pierce will again be the focal point of the offense with a rookie quarterback likely under center," NFL.com says about Pierce. "There is a lot to like about Pierce, but the stat that most sums up his brilliance is this: He was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 53.6 percent of his carries last season and totaled the second-most forced missed tackles (38) on such carries, per PFF."
As the league's media site further states, Houston having a back like Pierce to help out their rookie quarterback is huge.
Three quarterbacks have won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in the past 10 seasons with Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys, 2016), Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals, 2019), and Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers, 2020) all having great first years in the NFL.
Each of them benefitted from more than 1,000 yards rushing alone from their backfields, and only Murray - who contributed more than 500 yards rushing himself - didn't have a running back room that chipped in 1,500 yards rushing.
C.J. Stroud might not be the favorite to win the award this year as the new quarterback of the Texans but with a running back like Pierce who ranked No. 12 overall on NFL.com's lists, he has as good a chance as any in the past decade.
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