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Houston Texans have a gaping hole at running back

By Nicholas Young

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 24: Josh Ferguson #40 of the Houston Texans runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter during a NFL preseason game at AT&T Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 24: Josh Ferguson #40 of the Houston Texans runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter during a NFL preseason game at AT&T Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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The Houston Texans have a lot of work ahead of them in repairing a running back position without a viable starter.

In a preseason that saw the Houston Texans waive D’Onta Foreman and lose Lamar Miller for the season to a knee injury; it leaves them a huge hole at running back.

Recently acquired, Duke Johnson, has not proven to be an every-down back in his time since entering the league with the Cleveland Browns in 2015. During his tenure at Cleveland, Johnson only accumulated 1286 yards on 299 carries for 5 touchdowns. However, he has been great receiving back out of the backfield with 235 receptions for 2,170 yards and 8 touchdowns. To transform a running back specialist to a bell cow for the regular season will take more than just 3 weeks on a new team.

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The Texans lack the depth at the running back position with the exception of Johnson. The other running backs on the roster are Buddy Howell, Josh Ferguson, Taiwan Jones, Damarea Crockett, and Karan Higdon. Howell was primarily a special teams player during the 2018 season. Ferguson has been a practice squad journeyman and Jones only has 44 carries for 183 yards during his 8-year career while mainly being a special teams contributor. Meanwhile, Crockett and Higdon are undrafted rookies that could still need some time to acclimate to the NFL level.

Without a solidified general manager in place, head coach Bill O’Brien will be assuming a position he wasn’t brought in to do in the first place. O’Brien and several Texans’ front office executives will be responsible for potentially finding another running back for the Texans offense

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Without a starting running back in place, the offense could be forced to be more pass-oriented until they remedy the situation. Texans should do their due diligence in the trade market for a starting-caliber running back like Melvin Gordon, but there is also another avenue such as an acquiring a running back in a trade package for Jadaveon Clowney.

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