Through two weeks, the Houston Texans have to be thrilled with the way rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is playing. He has thrown for 626 yards and two touchdowns while completing 63.7% of his passes.
While the passing game of the Texans has been better than expected, the ground game has been that disappointing. Devin Singletary and Dameon Pierce are the two featured running backs for the team, but they are averaging only 2.6 and 2.7 yards per carry respectively.
Let’s take a look at which of these two running backs is more likely to break out for fantasy football managers in Week 3.
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Devin Singletary Fantasy Outlook This Week
Singletary joined the Houston Texans after four years in Buffalo. During his time in Buffalo, he rushed for at least 687 yards in all four seasons.
Through two games in Houston, he has carried the ball only 11 times for 26 yards. It isn’t all Singletary’s fault, as the offensive line has struggled to create holes to run through.
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It doesn’t get any easier for the Texans this week, as the Jacksonville Jaguars have been one of the best teams against the run this year.
Through two games, the Jaguars are giving up only 83.0 rushing yards, which is eighth in the NFL.
He has been a very productive player in the passing game the last three years, as he has 38, 40, and 38 catches during that span. However, the Texans’ passing attack has been a lot more downfield, as he has only one catch to start the year.
Dameon Pierce Fantasy Outlook This Week
There was a lot of hype and optimism for Pierce this year, as he was very good in his rookie year last year. He rushed for 939 yards and four touchdowns.
However, like Singletary, it has been tough sledding as he has carried the ball 26 times for 69 yards.
Last week against the Colts, the Texans were down big quickly, so the team had to pretty much abandon the run to try and get back in the game.
For Pierce, the fact he is more than doubling Singletary on carries is something his managers should like. There was a lot of talk before the season started that it could be more of a 50/50 workload.
Which of the Texans RBs Should You Start?
Entering Sunday’s matchup against the Jaguars, Pierce is currently ranked RB26 while Singletary is ranked RB58 in the PFN Consensus Rankings.
With the amount of carries he has received through the first two games, Pierce is your guy from the Texans backfield to go with.
One area where fantasy football managers are going to want to see improvement from Pierce is in the passing game, as he has only four catches for 13 yards.
Last year in his lone game against the Jaguars, Pierce carried the ball 26 times for 99 yards and one touchdown. The carries were the second most in his career, and the yards were the third most.
While it might be a lot of asking either running back to have a big game, Pierce is the player most likely to.