AFC South Preseason RB Power Rankings: Where does Jaguars formidable tandem land?
• But do the Texans and Titans
• Where do Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby rank among his peers?
No. 3 AFC South RB 2023 Preseason Rankings: Houston Texans
RB1: Devin Singletary
RB2: Dameon Pierce
Not to beat a dead horse but teams would rather have two good running backs at a relatively low salary than paying a premium for a great one. That's the philosophy the Houston Texans and general manager Nick Caserio have adopted over the last two years.
The Texans picked Dameon Pierce in the 2022 draft and he went on to become their leading rusher. Although he wasn't able to cross the 1,000-yard as a rookie, he showed enough promise to make you think he could be a staple of the Houston offense for years to come. But not content with Pierce, they signed Devin Singletary, a highly productive running back that can form a lethal tandem alongside his sophomore counterpart.
A third-round pick in the 2019 draft by the Buffalo Bills, Singletary signed an affordable $2.75 million with the Texans this past offseason. Although he never tallied 900 yards in a season during his four-year stint with the Bills, his yard-per-carry average was always above 4.4. Simply put, he's perfect for a two-back system.
Expect Houston to use Singletary and Pierce a lot next season. Heck, one of them should cross the 1,000-yard mark or at least flirt with it. The Texans have a young quarterback in C.J. Stroud and by pounding the ball, they'll take lots of pressure off his shoulders.