Matthew Freedman advised holding Dameon Pierce at 301.1 FFPC ADP. Joe Mixon (foot/ankle) is hurt, Nick Chubb is now 30, and rookie Woody Marks trails far behind on the depth chart, so Pierce could stumble into early-season starting work. Still, Freedman quipped, "the only problem is that he’s Dameon Pierce," underscoring the limited ceiling.

Raymond Summerlin said he has been targeting Dameon Pierce in the late rounds because Houston’s new offensive coordinator is installing more man/gap concepts—exactly the downhill scheme Pierce thrived in at Florida and briefly as a rookie. Summerlin felt Pierce was miscast in last year’s zone-heavy attack but noted that recent Texans practices show the back hitting the hole decisively under the new system. With Mixon’s status shaky and Chubb looking sluggish, Pierce has a path to meaningful early-down work at a bargain ADP.

Erik Beimfohr pointed out that camp reports have Dameon Pierce back atop the Texans depth chart the moment he returned from his ankle tweak, leap-frogging rookies Jawhar Jordan and Woods (projected passing-down option). While he personally isn’t a Pierce truther, Beimfohr emphasized that landing a probable Week-1 starter in the 18th round is a free roll for Zero-RB or rookie-heavy builds—"just give me a couple starts" until higher-upside stashes pop. Houston’s offense averaged 26.6 points over the final eight games of 2024 with C.J. Stroud healthy, so even a two-to-three-week usable stretch from Pierce can swing best-ball advancement rates.

Davis Mattek said Houston’s offense is about to tilt much further toward the pass. He thinks Mike Clay’s 568-attempt projection is at least 10 % light, forecasting 600–625 drop-backs because the line still projects as a bottom-tier run-blocking unit and new OC Nick Caley is expected to scrap Bobby Slowik’s zone-heavy script for a Patriots-style gap approach. Mattek added that Dameon Pierce offers little as a receiver and has already lost the staff’s confidence—so even with a more gap-oriented run game he does not expect any Texan back (Pierce, Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, or Woody Marks) to eclipse 200 rushing attempts. In season-long or best-ball leagues he’s fading Pierce and treating Marks as a late-round pass-catcher flyer only.

Jakob Sanderson pointed out that Dameon Pierce excelled in a gap-heavy system as a rookie and that new offensive coordinator Nick Caley brings gap concepts from both New England and last year’s Rams unit. Sanderson saw flashes of juice on Pierce’s 2024 kick-return TD and thinks a scheme shift alone could reignite his efficiency. While he acknowledged Ryans may have soured on Pierce, Sanderson still believes an upgraded blocking approach paired with Mixon’s injury gives Pierce outs to reclaim fantasy relevance.

Mike Schopp argued there is a sneaky buy-low opportunity on Dameon Pierce. He laid out the math: Devin Singletary is already banged up, Joe Mixon’s return timetable is undefined, and Nick Chubb looks ineffective, while the Texans have no early-down alternative after trading next year’s 3rd-rounder for Woody Marks. If no waiver-wire savior appears, Pierce could default into early-down and goal-line work by September. Schopp considers that thin but real path worth a late-round stab in best-ball tournaments for an "ultra-bowl" payoff.

Davis Mattek said he is “couldn’t be less interested” in drafting Dameon Pierce after Houston’s off-season moves. Mattek believes the organization has already signaled it views Pierce as expendable: they knew Joe Mixon was nearing the end and therefore pre-emptively guaranteed Nick Chubb roughly $2.5 M (up to $5 M with incentives) to be the contingency veteran. Because that signing has already happened, Mattek does not expect another meaningful addition but thinks the backfield will still funnel through Mixon/Chubb whenever one of them is healthy, leaving minimal upside for Pierce in best-ball or season-long formats.