RB Royce Freeman led the Texans with 11 carries and 51 yards in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs, the 1st game since RB Dameon Pierce landed on IR with a high-ankle sprain. RB Dare Ogunbowale got the position's only other carries, taking 8 rushes for 14 yards. RB Rex Burkhead led the backfield in targets (4), receptions (2) and receiving yards (17). Freeman added a 5-yard catch on his only target. This is a backfield to avoid the rest of the way.
The Texans placed RB Dameon Pierce on IR with his ankle injury, ending his 2022 season. Pierce had an impressive rookie season, running for 939 yards on 4.3 yards per carry in a bad Houston offense. He currently ranks 8th in Pro Football Focus rushing grade and 3rd in Elusive Rating among 39 RBs with 100+ carries. It's enough to make Pierce the favorite to lead this backfield in 2023, but we'll see what the Texans do at the position this offseason. The Texans promoted RB Royce Freeman from the practice squad on Saturday. He joins Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale in the backfield for Sunday's game vs. the Chiefs.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Chiefs. RBs Dare Ogunbowale and Rex Burkhead are on the active roster, with RBs Royce Freeman and Gerrid Doaks on the practice squad. We’ll see if Houston makes an elevation on Saturday, but you should try to avoid this backfield in fantasy lineups.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce is expected to miss "at least" 1 game with a "relatively mild high-ankle sprain," a source tells insider Aaron Wilson. It sounds like Pierce could end up missing a couple of games but is expected back this season. Houston released RB Eno Benjamin on Tuesday, leaving Dare Ogunbowale and Rex Burkhead as the healthy RBs on the active roster. RB Royce Freeman is on the practice squad. Hopefully you don't need to mess with this situation in Week 15 fantasy lineups.
Texans RB Rex Burkhead (concussion) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Browns. RB Eno Benjamin is active for the 1st time as a Texan and could play a passing-down role behind RB Dameon Pierce.
Texans RB Rex Burkhead (concussion) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the Browns. He got in a full practice on Friday, so he’s trending toward clearance by Sunday. Burkhead has totaled just 2 carries and 7 targets over his last 5 games, so there’s very little fantasy impact here.
Texans RB Rex Burkhead is in the concussion protocol, HC Lovie Smith said Monday. Burkhead has totaled just 2 carries and 7 targets on 59 snaps over his last 5 games, so there will be very little fantasy impact if he's unable to play vs. the Browns this weekend.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce managed a paltry 17 total yards in Sunday's loss to the Commanders. He carried 10 times for just 8 yards, adding 9 more on 2 receptions. He did dominate backfield playing time, at least. Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale combined for just 13 snaps, 1 target and 0 carries. Friendlier rushing matchups lie ahead, with the Dolphins, Browns, Cowboys and Chiefs the next 4 weeks. The top-rated Titans run defense looms as a potential problem in Week 16, though.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce looked dominant against Philly in Week 9, rushing 27 times for 139 yards. He benefited from Houston (surprisingly) keeping this game close until the very end. But credit the rookie for a truly special performance. Per Next Gen Stats, he gained more yards than expected on a season-high 52% of his attempts. He also now ranks 3rd league-wide in yards after contact (637). While Pierce lost some 3rd-down/passing-down snaps to Rex Burkhead — and didn’t see a single target — he's asserted himself as an RB1 going forward. Next up is a road matchup with the Giants.
It wasn't surprising to see Texans RB Dameon Pierce log 20 carries in Sunday's loss to the Raiders. Pierce's 92 rushing yards marked his 3rd straight game of 90+ and 4th straight of 80 yards or more. He has also collected 20+ rushing attempts in 3 of the past 4 contests. Pierce also caught all 4 of his targets for 25 yards, and that was only good enough for 3rd among Houston RBs in receiving. Dare Ogunbowale led all Texans with 7 looks, catching 5 for 54 yards. Rex Burkhead checked in next with a 5-11 receiving line on 6 targets. WR Brandin Cooks slotted between Burkhead and Pierce, going 4-46 receiving on 5 targets. The RBs combined for 41.5% of Houston's targets in the game. Throw in 3 combined carries for Burkhead (2) and Ogunbowale (1), and the RBs controlled 62.5% of the team's total opportunities (carries + targets). That's well above what's been the norm for Houston -- especially Ogunbowale's involvement. He had played just 1 offensive snap through the 1st 5 games. Don't read too much into that change, though. All 7 of Ogunbowale's targets came on the team's final possession, which started with just 3:26 left and Houston trailing by 18.
Texans rookie RB Dameon Pierce loved 26 carries in Sunday's win at Jacksonville, turning them into 99 yards and a TD. He also ranked 3rd on the team with 5 targets, catching 3 for 14 yards. Pierce again dominated Rex Burkhead in playing time and continued to lead him in pass routes.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce rushed for 80 yards and a TD on 20 carries in Sunday's 3-point loss to the Bears. He added 2 catches for 21 yards on 2 targets. Pierce again worked well ahead of RB Rex Burkhead on the rushing side while watching the veteran lead on passing downs. Burkhead led Houston with 4 catches on 5 targets (2nd to Brandin Cooks) but logged only 3 rushing attempts.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce went from trailing Rex Burkhead in Week 1 opportunities to a big lead in Sunday's loss to the Broncos. The rookie handled all 15 of Houston's RB carries, gaining 69 yards (4.6 per rush). He added an 8-yard catch on his only target. Burkhead still beat Pierce 3-2 in targets, catching 2 for 9 yards. But Pierce ran just 4 fewer routes than Burkhead against Denver. That gap proved wider in Week 1, with Burkhead running a route on 60% of drop backs vs. just 12% for Pierce.
Rex Burkhead operated as Houston's clear lead back in Sunday's opener vs. the Colts. He out-snapped RB Dameon Pierce 50 to 20, out-carried the rookie 14 to 11 and out-targeted him 8 to 1. Neither guy had any success on the ground, averaging 3.0 and 2.9 yards per carry, respectively. But Burkhead's usage has him on the fantasy radar for Week 2. We're still expecting Pierce's role to grow at Burkhead's expense throughout the season. But, for now, Pierce can't be trusted in fantasy lineups.
The Texans list rookie RB Dameon Pierce #1 on their initial regular-season depth chart. Although "unofficial," this matches up with all other indicators from the team through preseason. Pierce carries upside from RB3 range in fantasy football drafts.
The Texans have cut RB Royce Freeman. With Marlon Mack on the practice squad, Houston’s depth now turns up Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale behind rookie Dameon Pierce.
Texans rookie RB Dameon Pierce ran for 37 yards and a TD on 6 carries in Thursday night's preseason finale against the 49ers. Pierce started the game and handled Houston's first 4 RB carries before giving way to Rex Burkhead for a 2nd-down run on the opening possession. Pierce then converted the 3rd-and-1 play that followed and later scored the 1-yard TD run to close the drive. That marked the end of Pierce's night, with Burkhead, Marlon Mack and other playing on. HC Lovie Smith tried to temper the buzz on Pierce ahead of the game. “We’re talking a lot about Dameon, but I’m going to say the same thing for, we like what Marlon has done, Royce, Rex, Dare," he said Wednesday, per Texans Wire. "We have a good group. We have a good strong running back room.” It's pretty clear that the rookie will lead that room into the season. Just how much work Pierce gets will be the question we can't answer. And it's worth keeping in mind that no one expects this offense to rank in the top half of the league. Still, there's a case to be made for Pierce anywhere beyond the top 24 RBs in fantasy football drafts right now. The rookie moved up our RB rankings a little this morning.
The Texans elected not to play rookie RB Dameon Pierce in Saturday night's 2nd preseason game against the Rams. HC Lovie Smith said afterward that it was because they didn't need to see him, according to Pro Football Talk. Marlon Mack started the game, with Rex Burkhead, Dare Ogunbowale and Royce Freeman all working in as well. This doesn't necessarily mean that Pierce will lead the Week 1 backfield, but it sure seems to indicate things are heading in that direction. Pierce should certainly be the 1st Texans RB drafted (and the only one picked in many leagues). But be wary of chasing him too early. We still don't expect this to be a good offense, and the veteran RBs do figure to work in for touches. Smith said recently that all the RBs "have a certain strength."
ESPN Texans reporter DJ Bien-Aime believes "it's only a matter of time" before Houston OC Pep Hamilton makes rookie RB Dameon Pierce the "lead back." Bien-Aime believes the takeover could happen by sometime in September, pointing to the rookie's "explosiveness" edge over Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead. Pierce worked behind others in the 1st preseason game but certainly showed best among what we all knew to be a lackluster group. Pierce has been our highest-projected Texans RB all along.
Texans RB David Johnson has been activated from the COVID list. He figures to play vs. the Titans on Sunday but should only steal a handful of touches from RB Rex Burkhead.
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