Texans rookie RB Dameon Pierce scores TD early in Week 3 of preseason

Houston Texans rookie RB Dameon Pierce may have won the starting job in Week 3 of the preseason vs. the San Francisco 49ers. If he hasn’t, he’s done everything you could possibly ask for of a rookie running back in the preseason. Pierce scored a TD with 37 yards on six carries for the Texans to open the game on the first drive.

Pierce has impressed all preseason and at practice during training camp. This has led to some hype heading into fantasy football draft season. Pierce is doing on average right outside the top-40 among RBs in fantasy drafts. Should he be able to beat out the likes of Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead, Pierce has a chance to return very good value as a late-round flier at RB. If your draft is after Week 3 of the preseason, it may be too late. Pierce should gain some hype from this drive alone.

Pierce is a great zero RB target. You can wait and throw a bunch of darts blindly toward the end of your draft and see if anything hits. Pierce, if nothing else, should get carries in a time-share. That is if Mack and/or Burkhead stay healthy/perform well. The Texans could view this season as a wash and look to the draft during a rebuild, which would mean there’s no reason to push Pierce if he does have upside. It’s also the NFL. Coaches are stubborn. Lovie Smith is a veteran but we’ve always associated his teams in the past with defense and running the ball. If Pierce is the best at running the ball, Smith will use him.