The Houston Texans’ running game has been their strength on offense all season, and head coach Lovie Smith added another talented back to his stable of rushers last week. Eno Benjamin, a former Arizona Cardinal, was a key waiver claim who was brought in to compete for snaps with Dare Ogunbowale and Rex Burkhead.
He sat out in Week 11 in order to have some time to adjust to the Texans’ offensive system, but speculation abounds regarding his status for Houston’s upcoming matchup against the Miami Dolphins. Asked about how Benjamin has looked in practice during the team’s Wednesday press conference, Smith told reporters that he likes what he has seen.
“He is getting better,” Smith said. “It’s kind of hard when you come in late, it’s hard to get a whole lot of reps for our guys. I’m going to say the same thing about Amari [Rodgers] too. You get a chance to see him some, and what we’ve seen is that some of the things he displayed on why we claimed Eno [Benjamin]. He has good quickness, speed, he’s played good ball in the league. He is just trying to blend in right now and we’re trying to get as much of a look as we can from him. All of our news guys, we try to get that, but it is hard.”
While the Texans aren’t likely to find their stride on offense any time soon, any depth they can leverage at the running back position will be a net positive for them heading into what is shaping up to be a brutal rebuild in 2023. Optimism remains high that Benjamin’s involvement in the offense could be a boon for Houston through the rest of the season, and with some big performances in the next few weeks, he could play himself into a key role on the team for years to come.