Arian Foster was not even supposed to be the Houston Texans’ starting running back. Despite a strong finish to the 2009 season, in which Foster carried 39 times for 216 yards and three touchdowns in Houston’s final two games (both victories), the Texans appeared to be committed to Steve Slaton and 2010 NFL Draft pick Ben Tate atop the team’s running back depth chart.
2010 NFL’s Most Surprising Player: Texans RB Arian Foster
Slaton continued to disappoint and Tate went down with a season-ending injury, and a little over two months later, Foster is the NFL’s leading rusher half-way through the 2010 regular season.
Through eight games this season, Foster has been the engine of a very potent Texans offense, carrying the ball 157 times for 864 yards and nine touchdowns in those contests. The 6’1”, 227-pound Foster - an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee just a year ago - has also proven himself a dual threat offensively, hauling in 32 passes (second on the Texans) for 315 yards (also second) and another score.
As Yahoo!‘s Jason Cole points out, the NFL is positively brimming with surprising players thus far this season. Very few can claim to do half of what Foster has accomplished, and the second-year pro should be in for a lot more work as the 4-4 Texans push for their first-ever playoff appearance.
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