The Houston Texans have had two winners of the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in their history. The 2022 season may now produce the team's first offensive winner, as'fourth-round running back Dameon Pierce has taken over at the +450 betting favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year at Caesars Sportsbook.
The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Pierce is nearly impossible to bring down — if you haven't seen his amazing broken-tackle-after-broken-tackle run on Sunday in Houston's win at Jacksonville, see the tweet below. Overall, Pierce had a whopping 17 missed tackles forced on runs vs. the Jaguars, the most Pro Football Focus has ever recorded in a single game.
Pierce started the year a bit slow as rookies will do, but in Week 3 at Chicago, he had 20 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown. In Week 4 against the Chargers, Pierce had a career-high 131 yards and a score. And Sunday against the Jags, he totaled 26 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. Just imagine what could happen if he gets a good quarterback (sorry Davis Mills, but you aren't the answer).
The 22-year-old overall has 86 carries for 412 yards (most among rookies) and three scores (more rushing TDs than the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon, Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott). He is one of only nine rookie running backs this century to rush for over 400 yards through five weeks of a season, with the most recent being Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019. Jacobs finished second to Kyler Murray for Offe nsive Rookie of the Year.