Houston Texans select Florida running back Dameon Pierce in 2022 NFL Draft

With the 107th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans have selected Florida running back Dameon Pierce in the fourth round. The Houston Texans will be looking to use Pierce as a solid member of their running game, as most draft predictions have him making an impact as a backup immediately.

In his first two years with Florida he played in 25 games as a backup, rushing for 729 yards and six touchdowns. Pierce became starting running back for the Gators in 2020 and led the team in rushing with 503 yards and four touchdowns. In 2021, he only started one game, but led the team in rushing touchdowns with 13 on the ground. He also scored another three touchdowns receiving last season. While his production was excellent, he didn’t receive the amount of usage on offense that some analysts feel he deserved.

Pierce cemented himself as a fan-favorite at Florida with a quote he gave during a press conference ahead of Florida’s bowl game last year. He was asked why he was playing in the Gasparilla Bowl, despite being invited to the Senior Bowl and preparing for the upcoming NFL draft.

“Why? Because I’m a Gator, bro,” said Pierce. “When I signed here, I signed for four good years, get my education and I’m going to rock out that way until I die, you know.”

Pierce was a former four-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus rankings, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He played high school football at Bainbridge in Georgia, joining the Gators as the 16th-ranked running back in the nation in the 2018 recruiting class.

What NFL draft analysts are saying about Dameon Pierce

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein noted that Pierce is an incredibly tough to tackle runner, with an explosive power to his runs. His strength running the ball and ability to create yardage after contact is part of why Zierlein believes Pierce could develop into a starting running back for a team, even if he’s not quite at that level yet. However, Pierce could fit into another type of situation much quicker.

“Pierce was highly productive (16 total touchdowns) in 2021 despite an embarrassingly low usage rate by the coaching staff,” said Zierlein. “He has plenty of tread left on the tires and fits into any run-blocking scheme as a quality future starter or member of a running back tandem.”