3. Damarea Crockett
Going into training camp and into the preseason, one player who had was thought to have a good chance to make the roster of the Houston Texans was undrafted rookie running back Damarea Crockett.
That ended up not being the case as the Texans released him when they made their initial 53-man roster cuts. When the franchise decided to add Karan Higdon Jr. to the practice squad, and trade for Carlos Hyde, the writing was on the wall for Crockett this past weekend.
The 21-year-old Crockett played in all four preseason games, totaling 24 carries for 97 yards, and rushed for one touchdown. Being a 5-11, 225-pound running back, Crockett averaged 4.0 yards per carry with the offensive line that wasn’t the best unit to run behind.
Crockett, against the Detroit Lions, in Week 2 of the preseason totaled eight carries for 32 yards, with one of his carries going for 11 yards. His longest preseason run was Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys when he had a rush of 15 yards, plus he had one reception for five yards. Also in that game, Crockett had a fumble and lost it, which was probably one of the factors of him being released.
Given the proper time to learn and build on his abilities, Crockett can eventually help a team as a running back. Crockett signed with the practice squad of the Oakland Raiders over the weekend, so they were the team that was smart enough to add him to their practice squad and let him work on his running back abilities.
For Crockett and the Texans, there ended up just being too many running backs following trades and offseason moves on the roster and practice squad, but he’s a player to remember once he gains his chance in the league.