Texans Clarify Woody Marks-David Montgomery Backfield Plan as Tank Dell Returns to Camp
Houston’s backfield picture got a real update this week, and it wasn’t the one fantasy managers were bracing for. NFL Network’s Jane Slater initially said Woody Marks and David Montgomery would “split” lead-back duties, then walked the word choice back — telling reporters it was “too early” to call it a split since the Texans haven’t gone through padded contact drills yet, and that “tandem” is the more accurate term, according to Heavy Sports.
That distinction matters more than it sounds. A split implies something close to even touches. A tandem leaves room for a game-plan-specific split — Montgomery handling short-yardage and goal-line work, Marks getting third-down and space-creating touches — which is exactly the shape The Sporting News described when it noted Marks profiles as the PPR-relevant back while Montgomery looks likelier to score the touchdowns.
Why Marks Earned This Much Rope
Marks wasn’t drafted to be Houston’s lead back. A fourth-round pick out of USC, he was expected to work behind veteran depth before injuries and inconsistent play up front forced him into a bigger rookie-year role than planned, per Texans Wire. He answered by leading Houston in rushing with 703 yards and three touchdowns on 196 carries, adding 24 catches for 208 yards and three more scores through the air.
Houston still went out and traded for Montgomery anyway, pulling him off a Detroit depth chart where he’d become the clear second option behind Jahmyr Gibbs. That’s the tension here: the front office valued Montgomery enough to trade for him, but not enough to hand him the job outright over a rookie who was supposed to be a complementary piece. The DeMeco Ryans-era Texans have generally preferred committees at running back, and nothing in camp so far suggests 2026 breaks that pattern.
| Player | 2025 Carries | 2025 Rush Yards | 2025 Rush TDs | 2025 Receptions | 2025 Rec. Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woody Marks | 196 | 703 | 2 | 24 | 208 |
For fantasy purposes, the practical read is this: Marks is the higher-upside PPR option if he keeps the third-down role, while Montgomery’s floor comes from short-yardage and red-zone work — the kind of touches that don’t always show up in target share but do show up on the scoreboard. Whoever wins more third-down reps in the next few weeks of camp is the one to watch, since that role tends to be stickier into the regular season than early-camp carry counts.
Tank Dell’s Long-Awaited Return
Wide receiver Tank Dell was cleared for a limited practice return on July 30, taking part in individual drills and running full-speed routes for the first time since suffering a dislocated knee with torn ACL, MCL and LCL against Kansas City in December 2024, according to ABC13 Houston. It’s his first involvement in any padded team work since that injury, and he missed the entire 2025 season recovering.
Ryans described the pace deliberately: “Tank is on the right plan. Nothing’s changed in his plan. We’re progressing him on really well. We expect him to just continue to progress with how he’s feeling,” the coach said, per ClutchPoints. “There’s no set way of doing it. It’ll be based on how he’s feeling. We’ll do the right thing by Tank and make sure we approach it the right way.”
Before the injury, Dell was a legitimate fantasy weapon — 98 catches for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns across his first two seasons. But the Texans’ receiver room looks different than the one he left. Nico Collins is firmly the WR1, and Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel both showed enough as rookies in 2025 to cut into the target pool Dell would otherwise be fighting for, alongside Xavier Hutchinson.
What’s Next
Both situations should sharpen fast once pads come on. Slater’s “tandem” framing was itself a live correction issued before Houston has run a single padded practice, which tells you the coaching staff hasn’t locked anything in yet — third-down reps and short-yardage packages over the next two weeks of camp are the real signal, not depth-chart labels. Dell’s workload will likely stay capped through the preseason regardless of how he looks, given the injury’s severity and the deep receiver room around him; a full-speed route in individual drills in early August is a step, not a declaration of health. Fantasy managers drafting either the Marks/Montgomery backfield or Dell should treat anything reported before final camp cuts as provisional.
