RADIO
Arian Foster's groin injury is going to force him to enter surgery and miss anywhere from 6-8 weeks of the regular season depending on whether the Texan's decide to put him on PUP or IR (as of writing this article, which of the two they'll go with is unclear). While Foster tumbles down the draft and becomes a high priced stash target, his backups are about to receiver a huge ADP boost while battling out for the lead role in this offense.
Although many project the Texan's adding a running back through Free Agency to fill the void, the options available aren't special and the Texans just allowed Pierre Thomas, who they had been courting, to walk away because of a high price tag. What this means is maybe the Texan's see their true answer for Foster's replacement within their own stable. So let's take a look at who they have and what they can do.
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Alfred Blue
The Houston Texan's selected Alfred Blue in the 6th round of the 2014 draft as an insurance/developmental project. Although his combine doesn't show a special physical talent, on the field it's a different story. Blue's not much for lateral quickness but he runs with intensity and when making contact with opponents he regularly carries them for up to 2 or 3 yards. Where Blue suffered most in his rookie year was in decision making, as he consistently made immature choices breaking the structure of plays or trying to take a bigger gain instead of a dependable one. Maturity can easily solve those issues, but he's more of a straight line power-back in the vein of Chris Ivory than a full feature back.
Alfred Blue's 2014 does not inspire a lot of confidence from a numbers standpoint, he averaged 3.1 YPC playing something between a change of pace back and a fill-in for Foster. However, Blue's "I need to do too much" mindset makes him a poor choice for a change of pace player, like many other running backs with a home-run mindset. In games where Blue saw 11 or more carries he averaged 3.9 YPC, which is a slight improvement but not one that sells him in a positive light.
In the off-season, Blue trained with Adrian Peterson, so perhaps he might have learned some new things from one of the greatest to ever play the game but until preseason arrives and we see the second year of Blue in action, he looks like someone who's going to have to fight for the job.
One of Alfred Blue's better runs, grabbing tough yards on the inside.
Chris Polk
Picked up in free agency after not being re-signed by the Eagles, Chris Polk was a player the Texan's were reportedly very interested in and even willing to trade for. Current reports are that Polk will be getting the first shot in training camp to replace Foster but unlike Alfred Blue, Polk has never seen extensive playing time in a regular season game. In a seldom used change of pace role with the Eagles, Polk saw a total of 46 carries last year, averaging 3.7 YPC and ending the year with four touchdowns.
In what few significant stretches of carries I could find and watch, Polk does look like a better runner than Blue. Although lacking the brute power that his main competition has, Polk makes up for it by still having functional NFL power and unlike Blue he's capable of breaking tackles instead of just carrying defenders. Polk also shows much more discipline and understanding of how to take advantage of blockers than Blue, which bodes well for a team that employs a zone scheme which demands those two traits.
Unlike Blue, Polk's play style does give him the opportunity to be an effective change of pace back if he doesn't win out the job outright. Right now though, he's going to be given the reins to try and prove that he deserves the lead role. From the film, there's nothing to say that he can't be the lead in this rotation.
Chris Polk take short lateral steps to allow blocking to develop ahead of him, breaks a tackle, and gets some hard earned yardage.
Jonathan Grimes
Smaller than he others but far more agile, Jonathan Grimes shows the opposite of what the others show in his game vs his athleticism. Despite being one of the "better" athletes of the three, Grimes shows the least movement and seems to be the more "I take whats given to me" back of the three. Grimes projects much more as a change of pace than either of the two above him and I can't say that there's really much to bring up about him at all here. If the depth chart reaches the point where Grimes is the leading back, that would mean they're planning to go with a full blown committee. There just isn't enough in his game thus far in his playing time to warrant making him the real starter.
Jonathan Grimes finds no openings and bounces outside, leaning his head down and brining down a would be tackler with a hard hit.
So, Who Looks Like The Starter In Houston?
In my opinion, Chris Polk looks like the most likely player for the lead role. He's much more disciplined than Alfred Blue, and that's a big deal for the zone scheme. Most zone coaches don't like players who break away from the intended play-call (in fact, most coaches in general don't) and that's a big knock on Blue. If he shows maturation during the preseason then he can make a case to take time from Polk, but based off of their 2014 plays, Polk looks like the main guy to beat.
So, where do you draft Chris Polk then? Somewhere after the 8th round. The fact is that even though Polk seems like the best fit for the job, he doesn't look like a special talent. There's also no promise that this doesn't turn into a committee despite Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes less than ideal abilities. Be conservative if you're thinking of drafting any of these players because their upside is very limited.
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