Dameon Pierce Key Stats:
Running Back, Florida
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 218
Helmet: Off but he’s still runnin’
RAS: 7.14
Games Watched: Georgia,
Oklahoma (2020), Arkansas (2020), Tennessee, Kentucky
Positives Scouts Saw:
- Built like a tank, solid blocker
- excellent contact balance and leg churn
- has long speed and is an excellent receiver
Negatives Scouts Saw:
- Not a great short-area burst
- Inconsistent vision and patience
- Not top tier volume in college
Positives I Saw:
- Elite finisher
- Nice in space
- Pile pusher
Negatives I Saw:
- Not a dynamic bag of moves to make guys miss
- Can his size translate to the NFL?
- Not a three-down back, and will not be drafted as a starter
As a Prospect:
It’s hard to project a guy as a top-tier NFL running back when he was only used as a change of pace bruiser in college. Pierce has been ranked extremely high at times by some experts and extremely low at times by others. PFF has him as their third highest-ranked running back, Mel Kiper had him high in early RB rankings, and those numbers have cooled off depending on where you look. Pierce is a somewhat dynamic power/speed combo back that has a lot of potential at the next level if you’re willing to overlook his lack of college dominance and the fact that he’s never had over 106 carries in a season.
Fantasy Football Potential:
Pierce, probably more than most, will have his value determined in April. PFF has him projected as a third-down back out of college, and it’s interesting to see that because he was used more as a bruiser at Florida. I don’t want him in redraft but he is an interesting dynasty prospect, and probably going to get higher capital than a lot of the other pass-focused backs we’ve covered so far in this series.
Overall:
Pierce is a tough, armored tank of a back that plays low and bounces off defenders in space. He has a nice jump cut and stiff arm and could be an important rotational piece for an NFL team. There’s plenty of stuff he does extremely well, and those things may translate well enough to get him a few looks at the pro level. In college, per PFF, he never played more than 23 snaps in a single game at Florida. This means he has almost no tread on his tires and can come in and contribute to a timeshare right away. Could Pierce be a major steal? His path to relevance seems clouded, but there is a chance he comes in and a coaching staff falls in love with his skill set.
Dameon Pierce Reminds Me of:
Jaret Patterson
Grade: 76/100
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