Houston Texans

Free-agent running back Cam Akers (Achilles) agreed to a deal with the Texans. Houston hosted him for a workout on Sunday. Apparently, things went well, so he'll join a team that already has Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, and Dare Ogunbowale on the roster. Akers spent four seasons with the Rams before suiting up for the Vikings in 2023. He appeared in six contests for Minnesota, rushing for 138 yards and a touchdown off 38 carries, adding 11 receptions for 70 yards. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old is coming off his second Achilles tear. At any rate, Akers' anticipated volume should help keep him on the field, assuming he remains with the team come Week 1. However, his reduced workload won't earn him a spot on most fantasy rosters.

The Houston Texans worked out veteran free-agent running back Cam Akers (Achilles) on Sunday, according to a source. The former second-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams has also drawn interest from the Minnesota Vikings, where he played in 2023 after a trade and suffering another torn Achilles. Akers played in six games last year in Minnesota and rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown, adding 11 catches for 70 yards. Houston also worked out RBs Deon Jackson and Miyan Williams earlier this week as they look for additional backfield depth behind Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, among others. The 25-year-old is going to need to prove he's fully healthy to get a shot as a depth option in the Texans' backfield, and he can be ignored heading into 2024 fantasy drafts.

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce, who will enter the 2024 season as the backup to new lead back Joe Mixon, has looked good early on in training camp. Pierce was more decisive on his runs on the first day of camp on Saturday and could form a strong 1-2 punch with Mixon if he continues to look this good once the pads go on and to open the regular season. The 24-year-old former fourth-round pick in 2022 out of Florida nearly ran for 1,000 yards in just 13 games in his rookie season in 2022 before disappointing in his sophomore year in 2023 and losing the starting job to Devin Singletary. Pierce could excel with Houston moving to an outside-zone scheme, but as long as Mixon stays healthy, he probably won't be anything more than a handcuff option in fantasy leagues.

New Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon said he sees himself having a heavy workload with a role that he's been preparing for in his first year in the Texans' offense. As long as Mixon is able to stay healthy, he will be Houston's clear lead runner after finishing fifth in the NFL in carries with 257 in 17 games in 2023 in his final year with the Cincinnati Bengals. The 27-year-old racked up 1,034 rushing yards on his 257 carries, which ranked in the top 10 in the league at the position, although his 4.0 yards per carry left a lot to be desired. Mixon is probably going to need to be more efficient as a runner in his first year in Houston to finish as an RB1 in fantasy, because fantasy managers probably won't be able to count on him being as involved in the passing game for the Texans as he was in Cincinnati. But in Houston's ascending that is led by impressive second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, Mixon should at least be a strong RB2 target in fantasy drafts.

Houston Texans second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2023, said he thinks there are "a ton of things" he can do better in his second year in the NFL, starting with "owning the offense more" than he did a year ago. Stroud also hopes to improve his footwork in Year 2 and focused on his desire for the team to put more "on my plate" in terms of directing the offense. "I want to definitely attack down the field more this year and press guys back, but also take what the defense gives me," Stroud said. "If it's a boring play, stick with the boring stuff and just be efficient with that. Those are all things I can get better at." Fantasy managers shouldn't consider the 22-year-old to be a high-end QB1 just yet, but he's no doubt going to be a popular midrange QB1 target after the phenomenal rookie season he had.