Beat: Close to 50-50 split for Montgomery, Marks?

Marks was a change-up back and also worked two-minute drives — this is a pretty solid runout for him based on how it looked at times this offseason, but it’s going to be hard for him to deliver standalone value with David Montgomery monopolizing the red zone touches. Marks isn’t completely unstartable but is probably more of a what-the-heck FLEX against the Bengals in Week 2.

That’ll work. Montgomery winds up getting narrowly out-snapped by Woody Marks but was clearly the Texans lead back as Marks handled two-minute drill work and the Texans had to do a lot of chasing after allowing 36 points. Montgomery’s touchdown catch came on a simple misdirection in the red zone that left him wide open. He did not find much running space between the tackles today and had to grind hard for his yards, notching 39 of his 60 yards after contact. He’ll be in the RB2 ranks next week against the Bengals.

The Texans gave RB David Montgomery the night off, so Marks got the start alongside QB C.J. Stroud. The second-year running back played 10-of-10 first-team snaps before retiring for the evening. Marks looked good tonight, particularly on his 20-yard touchdown run, which required him to weave through traffic and bounce off would-be tacklers twice. The fact that Marks played while Montgomery rested could suggest Montgomery is the clear-cut starter rather than a 1A to Marks’ 1B. The young running back is still worth drafting as a bench stash, with potential standalone FLEX viability

Ryans said the same of Jayden Higgins. He talked about Marks looking faster and making better decisions. In other words, the game is slowing down for Marks as he enters his second NFL season. Houston had no choice but to load Marks up with touches as a rookie. He struggled to make much of the workload, turning 196 carries into 706 yards and just two touchdowns. The team then traded for David Montgomery in the offseason. Montgomery is locked in as the starter, but the comments about Marks could point toward more of a committee than fantasy managers have been expecting.

Barrett said Marks will “pick up some third downs” while also adding he could see more work in the passing game. While David Montgomery, who was acquired from the Lions earlier this offseason, is expected to lead the Texans’ backfield in touches this season, any uptick in the passing game is good news for Marks and his fantasy managers. Marks caught just 24 passes as a rookie last season, but the former USC Trojan was among the best pass-catching backs in the 2025 draft class, and amassed 261 receptions for 1,546 yards and five touchdowns during his five college seasons. Barrett praised Marks for his increased pace of play last season as he became more acclimated to the pro game and said his confidence “is at an all-time high” entering this year. Depending on the volume he sees in the passing game, Marks could have some decent stand alone value in PPR leagues even with Montgomery likely handling most of the early-down and goal-line touches.

Yesterday, Slater indicated that Montgomery will likely have “slightly” more work than RB Woody Marks this year. She went on Good Morning Football to clarify her comments today, saying the Texans envision “meaningful roles” for both players. NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson reported something similar earlier this month. Early in June, NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reported that the Texans view Montgomery as “a potential three-down back if needed.” It sounds like that might not be needed. Slater notes, “one issue” is that both players must buy in to the idea of a split backfield, albeit with Montgomery in the lead role. Slater indicates that Montgomery wanted more work than he was getting with the Lions last year, and that the Texans “seemed like an attractive spot” for him. Houston, however, believed Montgomery would be “great for our guy, Woody Marks, who we already saw flashes from.” First-team training camp reps should help us assess whether a 55-45 split is in play. Stay tuned.

Wilson writes that the Texans “envision a solid workload for Marks that includes third-down pass-catching duties and carries along with a new role on kickoff returns.” Texans RB coach and assistant head coach Danny Barrett said Marks’ “role is going to pick up some third downs, special teams,” and Marks adds that OC Nick Caley has him running “all types of routes.” It sounds like Marks will be involved on third down, but perhaps not featured. If Marks can secure the lead third-down role, and potentially the two-minute drill role, he may be able to generate PPR RB2 scam/FLEX stat lines this season.

Caley called plays for the first time in his career last year. His neutral situation pass play rate varied dramatically at different points in the season, going from 55.1 percent before the Week 6 bye to 64.1 percent in Weeks 7-12. He dropped back down to 55.8 percent after that. We expect him to remain in this range in 2026. Caley also believes balance can be achieved via “the usage of different players,” and remarked positively on the versatility achieved by using multi-tight end sets. Heavier personnel packages allow one to “deploy different types of blocking schemes” and attack “different surfaces” while effectively extending the offensive line. New Texans starting RB David Montgomery should benefit from Caley’s renewed commitment to running a heavy, balanced offense.

The “if needed” is a bit of a buzzkill, but it should surprise nobody if Montgomery is a heavy-touch player in Houston’s offense this season after coming over in an offseason trade. Woody Marks is not guaranteed to have a major role if Montgomery can handle third downs as well. Montgomery mostly ceded these roles to Jahmyr Gibbs with the Lions; it is no insult to Marks to note that he is not Gibbs.

It’s a pay raise for Montgomery, who can make $16.5 million over two years. Per KPRC'2 Aaron Wilson, Montgomery’s upgraded contract also includes a $6.5 million signing bonus along with a fully guaranteed $1.5 million base salary for 2026, while his 2027 numbers will include a base salary of $7.5 million with $2 million of that guaranteed. Montgomery was previously owed non-guaranteed money for each of the next two seasons. The soon-to-be 29-year-old running back was acquired from the Lions in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick and figures to be the RB1 of the Texans’ backfield in 2026.