The Houston Texans received a shot of adrenaline to their run game last season with an impressive rookie performance by Dameon Pierce. This year, Pierce will get some much-needed support with the addition of fifth-year veteran Devin Singletary.
"Yeah, excited to have both those guys," Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said at the annual spring league meeting in Arizona Monday. "Dameon has shown a lot from his rookie season. He's shown that he's a really good player and being able to add Devin there with him to have sort of that one-two punch to have those guys balance each other out, I think it'll be really great addition for us. Excited for what Devin can bring. He's hungry to show that he can do more, so excited to have him in Houston."
Singletary, signed as a free agent on March 21, spent his previous four seasons as a Buffalo Bill, putting up back-to-back seasons of 1,000-plus scrimmage yards. A third-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Singletary started 56 of 61 games he appeared in with the Bills, rushing for 3,151 yards and 16 touchdowns. He caught 145 career passes for 971 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Pierce finished his rookie campaign with 1,1014 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving) despite landing on IR with a season-ending ankle injury that caused him to miss the final four games. Pierce, named a Pro Bowl alternate, averaged 72.2 rushing yards per game, which ranked eighth in the NFL and first among all rookie running backs.
During a community event at the Houston Texans Teen Club this month, Pierce said he had been working out with the team’s strength and conditioning coach Mike Eubanks this offseason, looking to improve in year two. Even if the workload lightens up some for Pierce with the addition of Singletary, Ryans still plans on feeding the young running back.
"He (Pierce) showed some toughness, he showed some competitive fight in him," Ryans said. "I love the way he runs, I love his style, and it's a style that I really want to continue to feed him. I think that style of running is just -- it excites the entire team. He runs with an attitude that I really like and want to see him continue to build his game off of that, but I'm excited to see where Dameon – his growth from year one to year two."
