Dynasty Rookie Prospect Profile: Dameon Pierce (2022 Fantasy Football)

Dameon Pierce exited Bainbridge High School as one of the best running backs to ever lace up a set of cleats in Georgia. He still sits with the 10th-most rushing yards (6,779) and 11th-most rushing touchdowns (92) in state high school history. With these gaudy stats, Pierce was a four-star prospect entering Florida.

He worked behind Lamical Perine and Jordan Scarlett in this first season. Perine retained the lead running back role the following season when Scarlett was gone. In 2020, Pierce finally took over as Florida’s primary rusher, leading the team in rushing attempts and rushing yards. Unfortunately, while his rushing volume increased, Pierce had his least effective college season from an efficiency standpoint. His Yards after contact per attempt cratered to 3.00 (60th of 95 running backs with 100+ carries), and his breakaway percentage dipped to an ugly 17.2 percent (90th of 95).

The 2020 season looked like an outlier that wasn’t tied to the volume increase. However, in 2021, Pierce saw his Yards after contact per attempt rebound to 3.65 (34th of 170) and his breakaway rate climb to 31.4 percent (103rd of 170). While his breakaway rate wasn’t fantastic, Pierce had already posted breakaway percentages of 55.4% and 45.5% during his first two seasons, so we have seen him rip off big plays, albeit on more limited carry loads.

Although he was confined to a committee approach at Florida, Pierce has the prerequisite size, receiving skills (which we’ll discuss later), and pass-blocking chops to profile as a possible three-down back in the NFL.

Dameon Pierce Draft Profile

* Recruit stars via 247Sports

Dameon Pierce College Statistics

Dameon Pierce Dynasty Fantasy Analysis

Pierce is a versatile chess piece who was criminally underutilized while at Florida. As a rusher, he can be airdropped into any scheme. He saw 54.3 percent of his carries on zone runs (per PFF) and 43.4 percent on gap-designed runs. He’s a no-nonsense bowling ball who can get downhill in a hurry. He displays good feel and vision when operating on zone runs with the prerequisite juice to press the line and explode through the hole. While his speed score (68th percentile per PlayerProfiler.com) won’t blow your socks off, he can quickly drop it into fourth gear, which is reflected in his 86th percentile 10-yard split (1.51, per Mockdraftable.com).

*69 carries / **54 carries

With his compact build, Pierce doesn’t go down easily on shoestring or arm tackles. Instead, he runs angry with undeniable ferocity, as if he’s trying to make a statement with every carry. Pierce is also nimble enough to get small through the hole when he has to.

Pierce will contend for passing-down snaps as soon as he hits an NFL roster. The fact that he only saw an average of 21 targets over his final two seasons is an indictment of former Florida head coach Dan Mullen. A player with Pierce’s talent should have been a more integral factor in the passing attack. Yes, he spent part of his career on the same roster as future first-round picks Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts, but Pierce isn’t a slouch as a receiver. He lined up in the slot or out wide on 23.7 percent of his collegiate snaps, securing 88.2 percent of his 51 collegiate targets.

In 2021, he was 15th in yards per route run (1.80). However, he was silky smooth on angle routes out of the backfield on film. While at the Senior Bowl, he torched slot corners and linebackers on slants and out routes during one-on-one drills. Florida did line him up out wide, having Pierce run curls, among other route types. Compared to his wide receiver counterparts, he is stiffer in the hips and needs more steps to gear down, but this is splitting hairs because this part of his arsenal will make him a matchup nightmare in the NFL.

Pierce will become his quarterback’s best friend with pass blocking when he’s not running routes. Across 72 pass-blocking snaps at Florida, he allowed zero sacks, one quarterback hit, and three hurries (per PFF). In addition, Pierce regularly body-bagged oncoming blitzers at Florida and at the Senior Bowl. As a result, he elicited “oohs” and “aahs” from everyone in attendance in Mobile during pass-protection drills.

Pierce is an untapped well of talent, but he does present some questions transitioning to the NFL. With his varied tool belt of skills, he’s still a player we’ve never seen in a workhorse or bell-cow role. It’s conceivable that NFL teams could view him as a committee back, much as the Florida staff did. His 2020 dip in efficiency doesn’t help his case.

While he can rip off chunk runs with the best of them, Pierce isn’t a home run threat. His 5th percentile agility (per Playerprofiler.com) does show up on film. He performs subtle changes of direction with jab steps, but when drastically changing directions to create yards by himself, he loses momentum. These physical limitations hinder his ability to manufacture plays on his own when blocking breaks down.

Player Comp

Kareem Hunt (without the collegiate workhorse resume)

Pierce possesses the same compact build as Hunt. While Pierce might not have the same pure rushing talent and tackle-breaking ability, he can go toe to toe with Hunt in the passing game. Hunt has been utilized in the slot or outside on 15.5 percent of his NFL snaps. Pierce could see the same type of usage in a committee with the upside to operate as a three-down back if everything breaks right.

Landing Spot and Dynasty Outlook

Dameon Pierce lands in a wide-open backfield where he’ll compete with the island of misfit running back toys for work. Pierce could earn work immediately with only cast-offs Marlon Mack, Rex Burkhead, Dare Ogunbowale, Royce Freeman, and Darius Anderson on the depth chart. His long-term footing is questionable, with only fourth-round draft capital attached to his name, but he’s worth taking a shot on in the early second round of rookie drafts. Pierce has the size and pass game skills to operate as a three-down back. He can be the preferred passing-down option in a committee at his floor.

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