The “American Dream” is a concept that once told the working class of this country that, if you persevered, pulled yourself up by the bootstraps, and worked hard, you would become great and powerful (and wealthy).

Despite the meaning of that term changing over the years, the NFL’s free agent period at least gives players the chance for “the pursuit of happiness.” For many, that means straight cash, homie. For many others, it is also a chance to aim for a genuine chance to prove themselves on, or to be appreciated by, a new team.

The money doesn’t hurt, but the happiness is definitely what drew running back Lamar Miller to the Houston Texans.

Miller has been in the NFL for decades, it seems, but he’ll just be turning 25 this year. For someone who’s been in the league in a lead back role for four years, one would expect more wear-and-tear on his body than just 638 rushing attempts, but the Miami Dolphins never fully utilized his potential.

The Texans were reeling, however, after releasing star running back Arian Foster, and saw Miller as an immediate way to replace their aged star.

How will Lamar Miller fare as the Texans’ new lead running back?

Home, Home on the Range

Landing spot is a huge determiner of value and usage for NFL players. Truly transcendent, elite players can rise above circumstance -- but there aren’t that many truly elite or transcendent players in NFL history. One of the most important things we can ask about Lamar Miller’s future is: what kind of team situation is he walking into?

We want to know the Texans’ big offensive trends over the past seasons, and there’s no easier way to do that than looking at their value production in the different phases of the offense. We can analyze value by looking at numberFire’s signature analytic, Net Expected Points (NEP).

NEP is a metric that helps us take the numbers we get from the box score and shows how that player did versus expectation. By adding down-and-distance value to standard box score information, we can see just how much each play and each team as a whole influence the outcome of games. If Miller runs for five yards on 3rd-and-2, it means more to the game than it does on 3rd-and-10, and those plays should be valued accordingly. For more info on NEP, check out our Ryan Tannehill, who had promise and upside.

The Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day

So, the outlook for Miller as a Texan isn’t the clearest in the world. Foster, in his prime, was clearly a supreme talent compared to Miller, but the Texans aren’t looking for the next NFL Hall of Fame running back here; they’re looking for a valuable runner for the long-term by signing Miller to this deal.

Miller -- if nothing else -- does step into incredible opportunity by moving to his new team. It’s worth noting that the Texans have had 73 unique player games where a running back earned 20 or more touches since 2009 (out of a possible 112). The Dolphins have had just 39 such games in that span of time.

This suggests that they are much more willing to provide their running backs with chances to be a true lead back rather than a member of a committee. In addition, the Texans have averaged a compelling 104 passing targets to their running backs over the last three years. This will work well with Miller’s skillset.

Miller should be very satisfied with his move, as should fantasy football players. It remains to be seen how it will play out, but there is a promising feel to this. And that’s something worth pulling yourself up by the cleat-straps for.