Texans RB Dameon Pierce Has Made One Major Improvement Heading into Year 2
HOUSTON — Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce is healthy and ready to build upon a successful rookie campaign.
"He is healthy and is in great shape," Texans' running backs coach Danny Barrett said. "The experience that he gained from last year, it has carried over to this year. Mentally, he is in a good space, and he is leading by example."
Pierce has been a constant participant during the Texans' voluntary OTAs at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
Working alongside Pierce has been "amazing" for rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. He defined Pierce as a running back who can not only help move the chains in the run game. But Stroud has been enamored by Pierce's pass protection.
Stroud's description of Pierce indicates the growth and measures he has taken ahead of his sophomore season.
Pass protection may have been the lone negative against Pierce in 2022. It was the reasoning behind his limited snaps during the Texans' Week 1 tie against the Indianapolis Colts in September. And throughout Pierce's rookie season, former coach Lovie Smith harped on his subpar skill set.
But Barrett wasn't surprised by Pierce's pass protection endeavors. He said most rookie running back struggle with the "overall understanding of pass protection." Nearly a year later since his NFL debut, Barrett said Pierce's improved blocking is night and day.
According to Pro Football Focus, Pierce ended last season with a pass-blocking grade of 32.3.
"He can now see the big picture and can identify things quicker to get to his pickups," Barrett said. "That's going to help us out tremendously. When he is in the game, teams think we are going to just run the football. But his ability to pass protect, he understands what is needed in our passing game from him.
"Last season, everything was new for Dameon. Since he has been back, he has been able to process things better and the game has slowed down for him. You can see his patience and overall ability to adjust to the speed of the game."
Before his rookie season came to an end due to a foot injury, Pierce had rushed for 939 yards on 220 carries through the first 13 games. His best performance came during the Texans' 29-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He rushed for a career-best 131 yards on 27 carries.
Pierce restored the Texans' backfield in his first year. And without his services for the final four games, Houston averaged 64.7 yards on the ground.
Barrett believes the Texans and Pierce can benefit from the upgrades general manager Nick Caserio made to Houston's backfield this off-season.
The addition of Devin Singletary will give the Texans a solid No. 2 back behind Pierce. But Barrett considers Singletary as a veteran mentor who can help with Pierce's on-field development.
Singletary finished his final season with the Buffalo Bills as one of the highest pass-blocking running backs in the league. He posted a pass protection grade of 73.2 while rushing for 819 yards on 177 attempts.
Stroud is ecstatic to join Pierce in the backfield. He believes in Pierce's capabilities as a reliable rusher but has entrusted the second-year running back to help keep him upright in 2023.
"D.P. is a dog," Stroud said. "More so than that, he's just a great person. Just being around him a little, getting to know him every other day, he's hilarious.
"He's always very upbeat, very positive and wants to work and wants to get better. I accept a lot of feedback from him. He likes feedback from me. We've just been enjoying working with each other, so it's been a blessing to have someone like D.P."
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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