Jaguars liked RB Dameon Pierce in this year’s NFL Draft

One of the biggest challenges the Jacksonville Jaguars will face when they play the Houston Texans in Week 5 will be slowing down running back Dameon Pierce. Earlier this week, head coach Doug Pederson met with the local media and talked about the challenge the rookie will pose  Sunday. Moreover, he confided that the team’s brass liked him in this year’s draft.

“He was somebody we like in the draft“, Pederson said. “That’s what you see, he’s a load. He’s only 5’9″, about 218 [pounds], but he’s thick and he’s solid and had a nice 75-yard run last week. He’s capable of doing that. It’s gotta be all hands on deck to get him on the ground. That’s our division. This is a run division and there are some great running backs we have to take care of”.

The Texans drafted Pierce with the second pick of the fourth round (107th overall) of this year’s player selection meeting and the Jags chose running back Snoop Conner one round later. Based on Pederson’s comments, it’s possible that Jacksonville would have taken Pierce in the fifth if he had been available.

So far, Pierce has proven to be a steal. Even before his 131-yard, breakout game against the Los Angeles Chargers, he had racked up 182 yards on 46 carries. Here’s the 75-yard run Pederson is referring to.

The Jaguars would have a 3-headed monster at RB with Dameon Pierce

The Jaguars have a dynamic backfield tandem in James Robinson and Travis Etienne. Now imagine how good their running back room would currently be if they had added Pierce earlier this year. Of course, the draft is full of “what ifs” but Jacksonville will now have to face the former Florida Gator twice a year instead of having him on their roster.

Not long after Pederson’s comments, Pierce caught wind and said that it’s always great to get praise from a great guy, “Hey man, it’s always great to get praise from a great guy. I appreciate you, Mr. Doug. Appreciate that man. I see no wrong in that statement”.

The Jaguars are coming off a game in which they gave up 210 rushing yards while Dameon Pierce is picking up steam. They need to regroup and find a way to contain the rookie running back. This is a winnable game that they can’t afford to let slip through their hands.