Eno Benjamin to the Texans – Fantasy Fallout

Dameon Pierce

Dameon Pierce, the running back out of Florida, has been one of the better successes from the 2022 rookie class. His fantasy football ADP began steadily climbing after impressive performances during the Texans’ preseason tilts and that rise was kicked into overdrive when Marlon Mack, supposed second fiddle, was cut.

Now in mid-November, Pierce has backed up that hype train by finishing as an RB1 in four out of nine weeks and he’s produced a Top-20 finish in each of his past seven games.

Pierce’s rise to fantasy relevance wasn’t a given. He wasn’t a generational prospect coming out of Florida. His selection in the 4th Round of the 2022 NFL Draft speaks to that. He hasn’t been highly efficient in converting touchdowns, either, scoring only four times while having 28 red zone touches. 

What has been his fantasy superpower? His chokehold on the opportunities in Houston. Pierce has enjoyed a season-long snap share of 63.8%, and that is trending up with at least a 74.5% snap share in four of the past five games. Per PlayerProfiler, his 73.6% Opportunity Share (percentage of total team running back carries plus targets) is the 10th-highest among all running backs.

Now, however, Houston may have introduced a fly to the ointment. 

Eno Benjamin

Eno Benjamin was claimed by the Texans off waivers on Tuesday, following his surprising cut from the Arizona Cardinals.

At the beginning of the season, Benjamin found himself in a battle for a roster spot in Arizona, but earned rave reviews from the coaches and his peers through training camp and ended up securing the Cardinals’ RB2 position by Week 1.

Benjamin found consistent work in the margins while Cardinals’ starter James Conner was healthy, staying active in the receiving game with at least four targets in six of the first eight games of the season. Benjamin even turned in a top-five 1/2-PPR finish in Week 7 while filling in as a spot starter for an injured Conner. Benjamin’s playing time diminished over the last two weeks, with no official story why, and apparently, Benjamin voiced his displeasure with that, leading to his release.

Now Benjamin shares a running back room with Pierce and threatens the beautiful ecosystem established there. With only a few weeks until the fantasy playoffs begin, Pierce owners are forced to sweat out the coming weeks to see how much of a bite Benjamin takes out of Pierce’s apple.

Before we get too carried away, it is worth mentioning that Pierce is a better running back than Benjamin. Probably much better. The likelihood of a significant timeshare brewing is not very high. Benjamin is a real running back, though, and more of a real option for the Texans to use as a relief for Pierce than Rex Burkhead or Dare Ogunbowale.

It’s possible that this move to bring in Benjamin was born out of the severity of Pierce’s shoulder and chest injuries sustained during his Thursday night thrashing of the Eagles in Week 9. He was listed as a limited participant during practice last week but did not earn an injury designation for the game. There are absolutely zero reasons for Houston to run Pierce into the ground this season. They are shooting for the #1 draft pick in 2023, not the #1 seed in the playoffs.

Heading into the home stretch of the season, Pierce owners now have to keep a close eye on the snap percentages for the Texans’ running backs. Pierce will likely still be a reliable RB2 for the fantasy playoffs, but the RB1 ceiling Pierce owners enjoyed may be gone. 

Trending Now

Free Player Prop Bets

Sports Betting Home

DFS Home

Free NFL Picks