Houston Texans running back named worst in the AFC

The Houston Texans finished dead last in rushing yards last season.

One of the nightmares that happened last season was the Houston Texans’ rushing attack. They finished with 1,422 yards rushing for an average of 83.6 yards per game.

It was almost historically bad, and if it weren’t for a breakout performance from Rex Burkhead, they would have been worse in rushing yards than the 2002 expansion team. It also appears that Burkhead isn’t getting any love in a recent ranking of AFC Starting running backs (note: you’ll have to click to expand the image below)

Fan Duel put out their rankings, and I have a question to start off. How is Travis Etienne ranked ahead of Burkhead when he didn’t even play last season? Wouldn’t that spot go to James Robinson?

The Houston Texans must address the rushing game in the 2022 NFL Draft

There’s no way around it. The Houston Texans either need to take an offensive lineman (or linemen) early in the draft to start turning around their embarrassing ground game. Some offensive innovation from Pep Hamilton will help, but the guys in the trenches have to be better than last year.

Drafting a running back cannot be avoided, and you can find talent throughout the draft at that position. Kenneth Walker III is someone we’ve been dreaming of, but we are prepared to not see that dream realized.

This isn’t going to be something that’s changed overnight unless a miracle happens. Learning schemes and getting the right players to execute those plays takes time. Houston could have won an extra game, or two had their running game not forced them to be one-dimensional last season.

The draft is just under three weeks away, so we’ll see what happens when Nick Caserio enters the draft for the second time in his Houston Texans career.