INDIANAPOLIS -- Arian Foster remained a workhorse in the Texans' offense last season.
The star running back was as good as ever, rushing for 1,246 yards and eight touchdowns on a healthy 4.8 yards per carry average. He added 38 receptions for 327 yards and five touchdowns. All told, Foster had 298 touches over 13 games.
"I think any time a player reaches that age of 30 or close to that age of 30, and you know that the guy can still play, you know that he is a very talented player," O'Brien said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Arian is a very talented guy in a lot of phases. He can run the ball, he can catch the ball, he's a good pass protector, he's a smart football player, but you've got to manage him. How do you manage that? You manage him in practice. You manage him in the games.
"That's something we'll always take into account. We communicate with the player. We communicate with Arian. How are you feeling this week? What's ailing you? Things like that. You take a lot of hits at running back in this league. I think we just continue to communicate with Arian and manage it. He's got a lot of good football yet."
O'Brien went on to say he's high on both Alfred Blue and third-down back Jonathan Grimes, though he didn't rule out adding a new face.
"I think when you look at our needs in the draft, I would say running back is a position that we could look at."
The latest Around The NFL Podcast breaks down all the latest from the combine and gives updates on Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
