Will D’Onta Foreman finally have a breakout season for the Houston Texans?
D’Onta Foreman’s career got off to a fairly good start right out the gates as a rookie for the Houston Texans. Foreman was on pace for 523 rushing yards on 4.2 yards per carry until he suffered an Achilles injury in week 10 of the 2017 season. The injury has somewhat derailed his career, as that particular injury can be tough to recover from.
Despite that, Bill O’Brien’s comments regarding the back-up running back position don’t necessarily bode well for Foreman. So it poses the question of what should we expect from him this season?
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For starters, the Texans could really use Foreman as his involvement would seemingly allow the Texans to use Lamar Miller in space, which his strengths align better too. Miller has been used between the tackles and up the middle far too often when he should be used on tosses, sweeps, and counters.
Foreman is a big bruising back who would provide value in the red zone for a Texans team that ranked 29th in red-zone scoring offense. He also could help keep Miller fresh and healthy by limiting his workload a bit. So what are realistic expectations for Foreman?
Foreman was on pace for 500+ yards as a rookie and he could get 600 yards and 5 touchdowns this coming season, provided he is healthy and stays healthy. That would really help a Texans offense that ranked 8th in rushing yards and 20th in rushing touchdowns last season. Not to mention how it would open up the play-action for Deshaun Watson as well.
If Foreman is able to form a tandem with Miller, it could be very reminiscent of 2011 when the Texans had Ben Tate who rushed for 942 yards and Arian Foster who rushed for 1224 yards.
If used in the right way, Miller could very well be the speedy, elusive back while Foreman could be the bruising, power back. It all depends of course on Foreman staying healthy.