DAMEON PIERCE | Florida 5095 | 218 lbs. | SR. Bainbridge, Ga. (Bainbridge) 2/19/2000 (age 22.19) #27 BACKGROUND: Dameon Pierce, who is one of three children, was born and raised in Bainbridge in southwest Georgia (close to both the Alabama and Florida state lines). After his mother (Shameeka Rogers) signed him up for football at age 7 (against his wishes), he started at running back and became an immediate local legend at the youth and middle school levels, leading his teams to multiple undefeated seasons and championships. Pierce attended Bainbridge High and was a four-year starter, leading the Bearcats in rushing each season. After rushing for 910 yards as a freshman, he exploded with 2,060 rushing yards (6.7 yards per carry) and 33 touchdowns as a sophomore, adding 13 catches for 148 yards. Pierce earned Class 5A All-State honors as a junior with 1,686 rushing yards (6.9 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns while setting the school single-game record with 330 yards. He had his most productive season as a senior and again earned All-State honors as he finished with 2,123 rushing yards (9.4 yards per carry) and 33 total touchdowns. Pierce finished his prep career with 6,779 rushing yards and 94 total touchdowns, becoming just the 10th player in state history to surpass 6,700 career rushing yards. He also ran track as a sophomore and posted a personal-best 11.91 in the 100 meters. A four-star recruit out of high school, Pierce was the No. 8 running back in the 2018 recruiting class and the No. 25 recruit in the state of Georgia. He received his first offers (Auburn and Florida State) during his sophomore season and verbally committed to Alabama the summer prior to his junior season. However, Pierce de- committed from the Crimson Tide after his junior year and flipped to Florida over Auburn and home state Georgia, which signed the No. 1 back in the class (Zamir White). Pierce accepted his invitation to the 2022 Senior Bowl. STRENGTHS: Compactly built, and looks like an NFL back ... runs with attitude and power in his legs ... outstanding contact balance and feel between the tackles ... displays the sharp footwork and body control to hug blocks and burst to open space ... eyes and feet stay on the same page ... only saw 19 targets in 2021 but caught every one, including a few seam and wheel routes ... not only a finisher as a ball carrier, but also as a blocker ... not shy clearing the road as a lead blocker, and his physical chips will put defensive linemen on their backs in pass protection ... fumbled three times in college, but zero fumbles in 2021 ... the Florida coaches say his football passion is “evident” in practices and games ... carries himself with humble confidence that was instilled in him by his parents (went into the stands to thank the UF band after the 2021 bowl game) ... logged 441 special teams snaps (mostly on kickoff coverages) and finished his career with 11 special teams tackles ... his 13 rushing touchdowns in 2021 were one behind Emmitt Smith’s single-season school record for running backs. WEAKNESSES: His vision runs hot-and-cold ... his speed is average, limiting his ability to attack the perimeter ... one-note runner after he clears the first wave ... not a proven big-play creator (of his 206 carries the past two years, only two resulted in a 25-plus yard play) ... late to lower his pads into contact at times ... will invite physical contact rather than avoiding it ... only one season as the starter, and the Florida coaches gave him 15-plus touches in a game only twice in his career (50 games played in Gainesville) ... never reached 600 yards rushing in any of his four seasons in college. SUMMARY: A one-year starter at Florida, Pierce was part of a backfield rotation in former head coach Dan Mullen’s spread offense (only 374 offensive touches in his career). One of the most productive high school players in Georgia history, he underwhelmed in his first three years in the Gators’ pass-happy offense, but he made the most of his senior season and impressed when he got on the field. Pierce has a thick lower half and strength through his core and displayed improved reliability in 2021 (no fumbles, no drops, steady blocker). He has ordinary speed and can be inconsistent stringing moves together, but he runs through contact with short-area explosion and treats every run like it's his last. Overall, Pierce doesn’t have the résumé of a bell-cow back or big-play creator, but he has an NFL build and run style with the instincts and finishing skills to be a better pro than college player. He has plenty of tread left on his tires with NFL starting potential in both gap and zone schemes. GRADE: 4th Round
Overall pick number: 107 NFL.com rating: 6.19 (good backup with the potential to develop into starter) It's a fun afternoon of tape study watching Pierce play the game like a coiled spring ready to explode on each snap. He's an urgent runner with twitchy downfield burst, tackle-breaking leg drive and outstanding balance through contact. He reads and reacts to block development quickly and creates additional yardage with both power and subtle shiftiness. Pierce was highly productive (16 total touchdowns) in 2021 despite an embarrassingly low usage rate by the coaching staff. He has plenty of tread left on the tires and fits into any run-blocking scheme as a quality future starter or member of a RB tandem. ESPN ranking: 96 Pierce is a one-cut downhill runner with good contact balance and finishing power. Nine of his 13 rushing touchdowns in 2021 came in goal-to-go situations, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He's a natural hands catcher with the potential to develop into a reliable safety valve. He runs with outstanding effort, rarely fumbles and is willing to stick his face in the fan as a blocker. PFF ranking: 95 Pierce may not have handled a massive workload in college, but the man was as effective as it gets when he did touch the ball. His 93.5 rushing grade led the FBS in 2021, and he broke 39 tackles on 100 attempts.
Love this pick. Watched a lot of his highlights last night and he plays with a lot of swag. He's a big, explosive, physical back with big hands that can do it all. And he doesn't have too much wear and tear because he was in a three man rotation at Florida. Great combine numbers, great personality, very happy with this selection.
He's a more physical downhill runner, more of a goal line back. Spiller is a more shifty back, but he sometimes takes too long making decisions in the backfield, Pierce hits the hole hard and delivers punishment. Sounds right, Florida employed a three man backfield rotation and he was used inside the 20s a lot. I think the most yards he had was 80
I like the broken tackles. One of our biggest RB issues was that none of them could break tackles and would go down on first contact.
Spiller minus the fumbles? I’m just glad that after going IOL so high they draft a RB early enough and with enough talent to take advantage.
