As Week 1 approaches, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle notes that coach Lovie Smith declined Monday to name a starting running back in a Texans backfield that includes Pierce, Marlon Mack and Rex Burkhead.
When asked whether Pierce, who has been impressive during the preseason, had done enough to earn the team's starting job, Smith elected not to provide clarity on that front, quite possibly to keep early-season opponents guessing. "Dameon Pierce has played good ball pretty much since he got in the facility," Smith said. "He's a good football player, right amount of power. He'll make you miss in the open field. He can catch the ball. He can do a lot of things that NFL running backs do." Despite Smith's reluctance at this time to share his team's backfield plans, things appear to be trending in Pierce's favor, with DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com suggesting even in the context of a potential committee approach, he'd expect Pierce to get the most touches. With that in mind, the 2022 fourth-rounder out of Florida remains the upside play in fantasy over Mack and Burkhead, a notion that is clearly reflected in his current ADP.