FFW Micro - Dameon Pierce

You found Fantasy Football Weekly Micro a deep dive on one player in just five to ten minutes. Now, here's your host, Paul Georgian. It's Fantasy Football Weekly micro edition and maybe my favorite micro edition that we've done todate because it's my guy, Damian Pierce. Oh okay, I can't wait to dig in deep dive on one of my favorite running backs in the league. Joining me today as he has for each of the Fantasy Football Weekly micro editions. Gullantine Leagues dot com writer Tyler Cannabile.

Excited to be here, excited to talk about Damian Pierce. He is the scepter winner of Kyle Brandt's Angry Run of the Year Annual, First Annual, First Annual.

Yeah, here's him at the NFL Awards.

Oh I remember the run. My pants are still in orbit on that run. That was such a bad ass run. I think six broken tackles in one run.

Very possibly crazy run.

Oh god, And you know what, it wasn't alone. I mean, that was not like some fluke. Damian Pierce just shreds dudes. Oh god, I love that guy. But I'll let you set the table. You did a You've done a lot of research on Damian Pierce. I think you and I you probably are not going to share quite my enthusiasm, but that's okay.

Yeah, no, I still like Damian Pierce.

He finishes the RB twenty three last year in average points per game. Currently going off the board is RB twenty one, so that's kind of the same area. First the player, he was third in rush attempts per broken tackle kind of the same style we use with Dave Montgomery a couple episodes ago, and the only guys, the only guys that were higher than him were Lamar Jackson Derrick Henry.

Yeah, so Lamar Jackson's obviously pretty special. That's Henry's head of the Great Company to be Oh yes, yeah, that's awfully good. Broken tackles is kind of the name of Damian Pierce's game. It's the it's the squat frame, it's the power, but it's the footwork. What he does so brilliantly and guys his size almost never do, is the footwork and balance that that allow him to break tackles. Because defenders don't get clean shots on him, they get glancing shots at him, and Damian Pierce is able to

It also doesn't belong on a team that he's on.

Right now, Well, I'm bullish on this team. I think I think Houston is going to be a dramatically better team. I love you know, remember they at the end of last year they were a good team. They mistakenly won that last game, but they were also a good team through most of December. And they've got what appears to be a much more competent coaching staff, and we'll talk a little bit more about that a little later on in the show here.

I mean, I agree with you that this year they should be better, at least on paper than they were last year, because I mean the beginning weeks one through I don't know, twelve or thirteen last year they were just horrendous. David Davis Mills or is Kyle Allens You're not gonna be so you don't want any parts of that offense?

Yes, yet some games both.

So so now, oh it's gonna be Stroud or Young?

Well is it? I've heard reports that they might not even take a QB. They don't like.

I think they only like Bryce Young that's what I've heard. They could be doing smokeshre and we don't know.

Yeah, I don't think that's true.

You think that they can go quarterback too.

And then do they have picked twelve?

It's twelve twelve.

Uh, and that should be a wide receiver. And we like Nico Collins around here. We're part of the Nico Collins fan club. But uh, they almost certain Robert they signed Robert Wards, don't care. I think they go wide receiver there, and now this offense gets a lot more developed.

Yeah.

Well, somebody else I signed was Devin Singletary, which I actually think was a really good signing for Damian Pierce because Devin Singletary is like, I'm not worried about him, Like, oh, Devin Singletary is in town, He's gonna take all the touches. That's just not gonna happen, especially when you're buying Damian pierces.

And Singletary doesn't catch, and Pierce is a sneaky good pass receiver. Last year he caught seventy seven percent of the passes thrown his way. I believe it was thirty three receptions on the season. Now that's not half bad. He's got roomed to grow as a receiver. He was underutilized there last year. And at Florida, they would throw to Damian Pierce downfield. I mean they'd send him on a crossing route and you know they'd hit him eighteen yards down field. They can do a lot more with

Oh, if we get that forty nine ers style offense, I'm right there with you, Like, this is the upside you have at Damian Pierce.

Because you know what the player is. You just got to hope the situation is gonna be good.

So if we see that kind of volume and situations from our boy Damian Pierce, then I'm all in. But The only reservation I have is can we trust the mid round drafted running back in the NFL?

Because we've seen this story before.

Austin Eckler and Aaron Jones are the only round four or later guys that have kept their starting jobs and performed at as a top twenty four running back. Over like I just kind of did the past like three or four years, there are only two guys.

Eaza Pacheco is going to so we add him we asumably we can add him into this into this mix. And just because he was miss drafted doesn't mean he's a bad player. I mean, I you know, I think that people got it wrong. If you're to rehold that draft today, Damian Pierce would not be in the fourth round and what Pierce would have been a second or third round.

And one of the things to build off of that is when I was doing like kind of like looking at the rookies last season going into last year's NFL draft, Damian Pierce is a name that kept popping up because you saw it on the field that Florida. The only problem was that Florida coaching staff just wouldn't use him, wouldn't use him, and they didn't use Anthony Richardson either used the other.

I don't remember the quarterback before him, but he was Jones.

Maybe don't quote me on that, but it's Florida kind of ruined I think his draft stocks. So I think he sure if they used him right, he would have gone as the top whatever guy. I just we've seen this in the past where they looked like the starter and then they weren't. Just some names that they're out there Michael Carter last year, Elijah Mitchell, James Robinson especially was the one guy we were like, oh, he was a seventh round pick and now he's sure.

Yeah, he tore his achilles.

I mean it's, you know, a devastating injury for a running back.

But they drafted etn before they before he tore.

His achilles, that's true. Yeah, So that was the whole thing is they replaced him right after he finished. I think he was like the RBS five or six that year, I don't remember exactly. And then another name is Alfred Morris, not recently, but another guy who six round picked, crazy rookie season and then never heard from again.

So Damian Pierce finishes as RB twenty three in a season in which he had four rushing touchdowns four and he still finished his RB twenty three. His style, I mean, Damian Pierce is a goal line Devin Singletary is not a goal line back. Damian Pierce is going to get all the carries inside the five. Damian Pierce could turn those four rushing touchdowns into twelve rushing touchdowns. He chipped in one through the air last year. That could turn into two or three this year with this new offense.

I agree, the upside is much higher. Like I said, I love the player. I absolutely love Damian Pierce as a player. I just I don't trust that he's going to be the only guy there. Kind of the same thing we have with Tony Pollard where I'm just weird. There's so many If they spend.

A round two pick on a run, would you be a little worried then yes, yeah.

And I don't know why they would do that. Your team with Houston needs, has all the needs they've got, and you've got Damian Pierson roster. I would I would have a lot of questions.

I hope it doesn't matter that Damian Pierce wasn't this new coaching styles pick. I know that's always that always gets talked about, Oh it's not their guy that didn't draft him. I think it gets over played a little too much, but I do think it's worth mentioning.

At least if they take a running back up, we'll talk about that. Yes, yeah, I don't believe they will. I hope they don't. I'd be I don't know how you could watch the tape of that offense and not come to the conclusion that your best offensive player is Damian Pierce. So you know, I'd be surprised. But I have seen people mocking running back to Houston, and I'm like, did you guys not watch any Texans games?

Yeah, if Sharbona ends up in Houston, that would be worst case scenario, that'd be a disaster.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, because he's a super cool player. We just broke him down on Friday's Fantasy Football Weekly, really really interested in what he's going to be able to do. All Right, So you and I disagree a little bit on Damian p but we both like him. I like him a lot. So let's, uh, let's talk about some of the other players going around that ADP of RB twenty one.

All right, David Montgomery RB nineteen, and we were pretty high on d the last guy.

I liked him.

I liked Montgomery's opportunity, but I like this one more because there's less competition. I feel like and I trust the touchdowns. But I said that about Montgomery too. I trust his touchdowns too. I'm gonna go Montgomery.

Okay, I'm gonna go Mctgomery. He's going to higher than him.

So yeah, I'm gonna Gogery close.

JK.

Dobbins RB twenty Oh man, another high volume guy, you know, which probably should be a runnof.

I'm gonna take Pierce just because he hasn't had an ACL in the recent past.

Isaiah Pacheco RB twenty two.

See, I think I think Kansas City is a sneaky team to take a h take a running back in this draft, So I'm not gonna go Pacheco. I'm gonna go with the Damian Pierce here.

I'm with Pierce on this one too, just because we saw Damian Pierces be a better player than Pachecko was. Plus Pacheco's yes, ninear the pass catcher that Damian Pierce correct?

Yeah? Correct? All right? DeAndre Swift RB twenty.

Three, Well, we think Montgomery's gonna get almost all of the touchdowns. And yeah, I'm pretty much out on Swift, so not close.

Pierce, all right, I'm pretty sure I know where you're going this one. But cam Akers RB twenty four.

Look at you know, I'll acknowledge camp Maker's had a had a really nice December and he looked good. But I'm playing it safe here and I'm not gonna I'm gonna take Damian Pierce, who I know is really good.

Let's do one more just because I thought of it. Yeah, Najie Harris, pretty sure he's growing as RB seventeen right now.

I think i'd rather have Pierce. I feel pretty burned on Naji Harris. Yeah, you know you and I broke his game down a couple of weeks ago, and it just even with the even given opportunities, he didn't do much with him. So yeah, I'm pretty much out on Harris.

Yeah, I know Damian Pierce.

I'm in on Pierce, but I'm, like I said, I love the player. I'm going to take a shot on this range of guys because we don't really there's no definitive guy really even like really like in this range of players, the Montgomery Dobbins checko, like, we don't really know what their situation is gonna look like for any of them. So I'm definitely down to take a shot on Pierce, who I think is He's definitely a better running back I think than Cam Akers, than Isaiah Chaco.

So I'm I'm wanting to take the shot.

I love I love Damian Pierson Dynasty and Empire leagues, because Houston is going to be much better. And you know, just the upgraded quarterback right, whether it's Stroud or Young or maybe they go weird done as they take Richards and whatever, that quarterback position's going to be a lot better. And I see Houston doing a little bit of what Jacksonville did uh. You know, going from worst to first

Totally fair. I think I'm with you too. I'm with you. They're gonna be a lot better.

Thank you for listening to today's Fantasy Football Weekly. Gro addition, we've got another one coming up tomorrow as we dig into.

Miles Sanders submitted by somebody on Twitter.

Yes, thank you for the Twitter submissions. If you'd like to recommend a player for us to break down at Paul Charchi and on Twitter and at Tyler Cannabilee, k N A E B L E. Talk to you tomorrow, everybody,