The Kansas City Chiefs may have given their season one last shot in the arm after a late rally helped them pull off a tremendous victory against an 8-2 Indianapolis Colts team that kept their dreams of a Wild Card spot alive. Even after the win, Kansas City knew they needed to improve their running back room.
Unsatisfied with Kareem Hunt plodding his way forward and working through another injury to Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs found themselves trying to improve their skill position room by agreeing to terms with former Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce.
The Chiefs agreed to a contract with Pierce, who managed to clear waivers after the Texans finally managed to give up on their fourth-round pick. With Pierce coming to Kansas City soon, the Chiefs may see their running back depth chart shaken up in a very noteworthy way.
Chiefs sign former Texans RB Dameon Pierce after Week 12 win
Pierce came a few yards shy of 1,000 yards in his rookie season, in which the former Florida star looked like Houston's running back of the future. However, Pierce soon found his carries cut in half after losing time to Devin Singletary and getting buried by Joe Mixon joining in free agency.
Even with Mixon out for the year, the Texans have leaned on rookie Woody Marks and Nick Chubb. Pierce's lack of breakway speed is not going to radically change the offense, but that doesn't mean he isn't a major upgrade over some of the familiar faces in Matt Nagy's backfield.
Pierce is a better runner between the tackles than the perpetually hurt Pacheco and has more explosion up the gut than Hunt, who is still looking largely washed despite some signs of a pulse in the Colts game. Pierce shouldn't take long to immediately take snaps away from Brashard Smith.
Pierce is not going to save this running back room, but he has the talent to eventually become the top dog in the backfield by the end of the season. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king, and that could lead to Pierce eventually taking over.
Brett Veach has been criticized for sitting on his hands too often this year and for leaning on players with a past connection to the team, but he seems to have shaken off some of the rust and given the Chiefs a real chance to upgrade.