(SportsRadio 610) - A priority for the Texans this offseason was improving their run game.
It's been the least efficient rushing attack two seasons in a row, according to Football Outsiders' DVOA metric.
To address this, the Texans signed right guard A.J. Cann in free agency, moved Tytus Howard from left guard back to his more natural position right tackle; drafted Kenyon Green 15th overall to play left guard, then running back Dameon Pierce in the fourth round.
Green's development into the starting left tackle hit a snag during training camp as he nursed a lingering knee injury and suffered a concussion in practice. He does appear to be on track to be the starting left guard this season, likely sooner rather than later.
Perhaps no offensive newcomer has been as impressive as Pierce, though.
In Houston's third and final preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers last Thursday, Pierce rushed for 37 yards on six carries and a touchdown on the Texans' opening possession. It was the most rushing yards by a Texan on an opening preseason drive since 2015.
Pierce's performance off the bench in the first preseason game against the New Orleans Saints was good enough to keep him out of the second game against the Los Angeles Rams. After carrying it 20 yards in his first carry and leading the team with 49 rushing yards on five carries, the Texans' coaching staff had seen enough.
Pierce didn't see the field again until starting third game, when head coach Lovie Smith wanted to see his entire first string offense for most of the first half.
Is that reason enough to assume Pierce is the starting running back? Has he done enough to earn that job by now?
Smith was asked this directly during Monday's press conference, but wasn't quite willing to show his hand just yet.
"I don't have a mask on on how I feel about things," Smith said. "Dameon Pierce has played good ball pretty much since he got in the facility. He's a good football player, right amount of power. He'll make you miss in the open field. He can catch the ball. He can do a lot of things that NFL running backs do. ...
"I've told you about Jalen Pitre, that doesn't mean I'll tell you about everything else. If I was going to tell you, I would've come out here and said that. We're not naming any more positions. Since Jalen Pitre has been in the starting lineup the entire time that he's here, that's an easy one. With our running back position, I think you can see why we'll kind of wait for that."
The Texans have to cut their roster down to 69 players by Tuesday afternoon. That would be 53 players on the active roster and 16 on the practice squad.
Three other running backs could make the team along with Pierce: veterans Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack and Dare Ogunbowale.
Brandon Scott is the editor for SportsRadio610.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonkscott. Reach him directly via email: brandon.scott@audacy.com.
Follow SportsRadio 610 on social media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
