The Houston Texans received a major boost last season from a healthy game-changing running back in Arian Foster, who missed most of the 2013 season due to injury. That forced the team to rely on former RB Ben Tate and second-year player Dennis Johnson to carry the load, and that experiment failed quickly. Tate left Houston for the Cleveland Browns last offseason and Johnson is no longer in the NFL.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding Foster and a lack of quality backups, Houston signed former New York Giant Andre Brown and then selected an undervalued runner named Alfred Blue in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Brown was a flop and didn’t make the opening day roster while Blue was a diamond in the rough in 2014.

Blue, a 6-foot-2, 222-pound running back from LSU, suffered through numerous issues in college and never could show teams that he was able to carry the load as the No. 1 back due to the depth the Tigers had at that position (i.e. Jeremy Hill, Stevan Ridley, Kenny Hilliard and Spencer Ware).

Blue is exactly what Houston looks for in its running backs. Along with his patience, Blue has excellent vision and instincts that were on full display in 2014. Blue won’t break away from anyone, but he can punish opposing tacklers and gain significant yards after contact. He also has little wear and tear on his body due to the platoon system at LSU and his injury history, which isn’t typical of a running back coming from any major college system that places as much emphasis on the run that the Tigers do.

In 2014, Blue carried the ball 169 times for 528 yards and two touchdowns and was an effective backup to Foster. In the three games that Foster was out with injury, Blue had 280 yards, including a season-high 156 against the Browns in Week 11. He also had a 78-yard rushing day against the Giants in Week 3 with Foster out of the lineup.

Share