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.

Texans RB Dameon Pierce has improved his pass protection ability this offseason, according to RBs coach Danny Barrett. "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." QB C.J. Stroud has also been impressed by Pierce's pass pro skills, Sports Illustrated's Coty M. Davis writes. As a rookie last year, Pierce ranked 73rd among 81 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus' pass-blocking grades, allowing a pressure on 21.3% of opportunities. That was part of the reason he averaged a just-ok 3.0 targets and 2.3 catches per game. It sounds like Pierce is a candidate to take on a bigger role in the passing game this year, although he'll need to fend off free-agent addition Devin Singletary. We'll be keeping a close eye on Houston's backfield all summer.

The Texans are expected to hire Bobby Slowik as their new OC, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Slowik will become the latest Kyle Shanahan disciple to take over an offense. The 35-year-old has spent the past 6 seasons under Shanahan in San Francisco, actually starting out as a defensive quality control coach before moving to the offensive side of the ball in 2019. He served as an offensive assistant for 2 seasons before being promoted to passing game specialist in 2021 and then passing game coordinator last year. Slowik also worked under HC Mike Shanahan in Washington from 2011 to 2013 and spent a few years in between NFL jobs as an analyst at Pro Football Focus. It appears to be a forward-thinking hire by the Texans, although Slowik doesn't have experience calling plays at any level. The Texans are fully expected to take a QB with the 2nd overall pick of this spring's draft.

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 (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. He's expected to miss at least this weekend's game vs. the Chiefs, leaving Houston's backfield to some combination of Dare Ogunbowale, Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman and Gerrid Doaks.