Texans third-year running back Dameon Pierce clearly went through some soul-searching this offseason after a disappointing sophomore campaign.
Naturally, with the Texans looking past Pierce with the acquisition of Pro Bowl running Joe Mixon this offseason, his thoughts and focus could have been all over the place. But his approach and focus have been much more inward.
“Being number 31, being number 31, being Dameon Pierce and me, personally, that’s playing fast, that’s being explosive, that’s being a playmaker, that’s being a high caliber running back in this league like I have been, like I have shown, like I have shown flashes of. But now, now the challenge is being consistent in that aspect,” Pierce said to the Defender. “How can I build – how can I stack days? How can I stack games? How can I stack weeks? How can I attack recovery? How can I attack the playbook? How can I attack being a better teammate? A lot of those things go into being a better running back and being a better back for this team.
“So, ultimately, as long as my goals align with the team goals, all my personal goals will follow. So, that’s really what the focus is, just keeping the main thing, the main thing and being number 31 at the end of the day and having fun.”
All indications are that is exactly what Pierce is doing this training camp. He is working hard to move past a disappointing and injury-riddled 2023 season in which he lost his starting job and finished with just 416 yards and 2.8 yards per carry rushing.
That was in stark contrast to his rookie season when Pierce burst onto the scene as a fourth-round pick (107th overall), rushing for 939 yards and 4.3 yards per carry while scoring four touchdowns. The versatile back also caught 30 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield in 2022.
Oddly, Pierce insists that we are seeing his first two seasons incorrectly. He believes that 2023 may have been the best year of his career so far, but not for the reasons you would think.
“Yeah, five years from now, five years from now, bro, I’m going to be able to say that, ‘Year two was my best year.’ Probably not on paper, but the process and the growth that I had mentally is going to be something that carries over to every year that I play in this league,” Pierce said. “Just being able to deal with the lows, being able to battle through injuries, being able to bounce back, being able to just sit back and see that – it’s necessarily not a bad thing.”
Pierce’s surroundings changed significantly. New head coach DeMeco Ryans brought in a new offense run by offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, and quarterback Davis Mills was replaced by rookie sensation C.J. Stroud.
“Every day he makes a play, so I’m excited to see where Dameon is. I think he’ll be in a much better spot this year than he was last year.”
– DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans Head Coach
So that meant the dynamics and demands put on Pierce by running backs coach Danny Barrett were quite different.
Last year everything seemed to be happening at warped speed. Barrett believes things have slowed down significantly in Pierce’s second camp of the Ryans era.
“Coach Barrett, this is my third year with him, so he knows me probably better than anybody on the staff in terms of how I process information and how I go out and perform on the field and my process of actually taking in and retaining it,” said Pierce, who didn’t play in the Texans’ preseason opener last week against Chicago. “So, I’ll say that’s pretty much on point. Everything is slower and it’s allowing me to play faster because the less I think, the better I am because I’m like a player who doesn’t like to think a lot.”
His instinct has allowed Pierce to be one of the most versatile backs on the squad. Coming out of the backfield, Pierce is both a running and receiving threat, and the coaching staff is hoping to build on his explosiveness on special teams this season.
Ryans is pleased with what he sees from Pierce in camp.
“Dameon is playing fast and he’s making plays. Every day he is showing up making plays and I love what he’s doing in the kick return game,” Ryans said to the Defender. “Every day he makes a play, so I’m excited to see where Dameon is. I think he’ll be in a much better spot this year than he was last year.”
Pierce believes so, too. Surprisingly, one of the reasons for his increased confidence is the presence of Mixon, who is expected to be the featured back this season.
The Texans traded with Cincinnati for Mixon in the offseason and also recently added former second-round pick Cam Akers to the running backs room.
Pierce lost his starting job to veteran Devin Singletary last season.
“Man, I’m not going to lie, I love having Joe. I’ve had veteran guys in the room. I’ve played with [former RB] Marlon [Mack]. I’ve played with [former RB] Rex Burkhead. I’ve played with Dev last here,” Pierce said. “He went to New York and got a great contract, but I’ve never played with a guy like Joe.
“A back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher in this league. That’s somebody I aspire to be. That’s something I aspire to do. That’s a standard I have for myself. That’s something I think every back wants in this League, especially being a young guy.”
Pierce doesn’t at all seem bothered by his circumstances or the uphill battle he may face this training camp. He attributes his ability to remain grounded and focused to the people he surrounds himself with.
“I just have a great circle of people around me. I think the most important thing about my circle is, I have a lot of people who are honest around me,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of people who aren’t afraid to tell me, ‘Hey, DP. you’re tripping, bro. This ain’t you. Get better, do better. I expect more from you.’ I’ve got a lot of people who have a lot of high expectations of me.
“And also, I have a lot of high expectations of myself. So, anything a coach can say to me, anything my mom can say to me, I’ve already beat myself up a 1,000 times over it before they can even come to me about it. So, that just goes to show how hard I am on myself and how I internalize that and how I process that and doing it in a healthy way. I think that’s the most important thing, doing it in a healthy way, having a circle around me and just going through it like that, I just know – like my mom, she’s somebody I lean on a lot of times.”
