Houston Texans Positional Breakdown: Running Back

Nov 10, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Chris Polk (32) carries the ball against the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Panthers 45-21. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Polk, 5’11” 222 Pounds, 25 Years Old

While Eagles coach Chip Kelly was signing every running back who came available he may have allowed a very solid and underrated player to walk out of his building without knowing exactly what he had.

Some Background Info;

Chris Polk was undrafted in 2012 after three straight seasons of more than 1,000 yards. He had over 1,400 in each of his final two seasons in college and a four year average of 5.1 yards per rush attempt.

The reason he went undrafted was not because of talent, but because of a degenerative condition in his shoulder which scared many teams off. The Eagles took a chance on him after the draft, but he barely saw the field in 2012.

In 2013 he averaged 8.9 yards on only 11 carries, but did score three touchdowns on those rushes. In 2014 he had 46 rushes for 172 yards at a much lower average of 3.7 yards per carry. He found the end zone four more times while rushing this year as well.

What To Expect This Year;

Polk will not just be valuable as a potential runner, but he also has had some success in the kick return game. He averaged 30.9 yards per kick return and returned one of them for a 102 yard touchdown, which happened to be his first career kick return (so naturally Chip Kelly hardly used him there the rest of the year as he only had ten more returns after that).

Polk is a running back with a good combination of size and speed. He has a real shot of earning some playing time in Houston, and given his ability to help on the return game, he would be a valuable asset to the team. But he will have some competition to beat out to make the final 53.

Next: The New Late-Round Rookie