Fantasy football: Where to draft Houston Texas RB Dameon Pierce

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Houston Texans RB Dameon Pierce put together an impressive rookie season in 2022 despite playing for a team with few expectations. If it weren’t for missing 4 games, Pierce would have easily eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards. We’ll be taking a look at Dameon Pierce‘s 2023 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should take him in drafts.

Pierce is primed for another productive year in 2023 as the lead back for the Texans. With more upside in a new-look offense this season, Pierce does possess fantastic value in fantasy football in terms of where he is being selected in drafts.

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Dameon Pierce’s ADP: 59.85

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at the time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

At the moment, Pierce holds an ADP of 59.85, putting him somewhere in the 5th or 6th round of drafts, depending on the size of the league. The second-year back is currently being taken ahead of wide receivers like Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin (60.07), and behind the likes of Washington Redskins’ Terry McLaurin (56.49) and Atlanta Falcons’ Drake London (59.28).

Among running backs, Pierce’s ADP puts him 21st at the position, behind the likes of J.K. Dobbins (Baltimore Ravens, 57.34), Miles Sanders (Carolina Panthers, 58.94), and Alexander Mattison (Minnesota Vikings, 59.30), and slightly ahead of Cam Akers (Los Angeles Rams, 62.01) and James Conner (Arizona Cardinals, 64.14).

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Dameon Pierce’s 2022 stats

Games: 13

Carries | rushing yards: 220 | 939

Rushing touchdowns: 4

Receptions | receiving yards: 30 | 165

Receiving touchdowns: 1

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Where should you draft Pierce?

The Texans finished with only 29 total TDs in 2022, which was tied for the 2nd-worst mark, only behind the Indianapolis Colts. The number of scoring opportunities should increase for Houston in 2023 with the arrival of rookie C.J. Stroud under center.

Even with the signing of Devin Singletary this offseason, Pierce is expected to handle an every-down role for the Texans. Pierce proved he’s capable of handling a large workload as he forced the 4th-most broken tackles (27) among running backs in 2022 despite missing 4 games. He also hauled in 30 of his 39 targets a season ago after combining for 36 receptions in his final 2 years of college.

Singletary may steal some passing-down work from Pierce, but this is a Texans offense that wants to run the ball and ease the pressure off of Stroud under new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Assuming Houston’s offense is better than last season (it’s hard not to be), then Pierce has a chance to even double his TD output from 2022.

When drafting, I’d feel comfortable taking Pierce ahead of someone like Mattison, and sometime in the 5th or 6th round. For those that are attempting to go with a zero running back build in half-PPR formats, Pierce is a perfect option in the middle rounds.

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