Woody Marks entered the NFL with one of the best receiving profiles of any back in his class. Yet, he spent his rookie season doing the exact opposite of what he does best. Circumstances forced him into a between-the-tackles role he was never built for, and the results were predictably rough. The Houston Texans reshaped their backfield this offseason, a move that could finally push Marks back toward his natural fit. Should fantasy football managers take a shot on Marks in 2026?
Should You Draft Woody Marks in Fantasy Football?
Marks arrived as a fourth-round pick out of USC in 2025, and his calling card was obvious. He is one of the most polished pass-catching backs to enter the league in a while, having racked up 261 receptions across his college career. The expectation, and frankly the sensible plan, was for Marks to work as Houston’s receiving back and third-down weapon.
That plan went out the window almost immediately. Joe Mixon never played a snap all season while dealing with a lingering foot injury, and veteran Nick Chubb was thoroughly cooked. With no one else to lean on, the Texans were essentially forced to hand Marks the early-down job, a role he is simply not built to fill.
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The results were about what you would expect. Marks rushed for 703 yards on an ugly 3.6 yards per carry and ranked 50th in the league at just 4.1 yards per touch. His evaded tackles per touch and yards created per touch both landed outside the top 35, while his 0.65 fantasy points per opportunity checked in at a dismal 65th. Put plainly, he was one of the least efficient high-volume backs in football.
Here is the twist, though. Despite all of that, Marks still averaged 9.4 fantasy points per game and finished as the RB33. That is a perfectly usable fantasy season, which speaks to the sheer power of volume. A 6.9% target share also hinted at the receiving role he was always better suited for, even if the ground-game workload overshadowed it.
Marks’ Redraft Fantasy Football Value
The offseason brought significant change, as the Texans traded for David Montgomery. Houston shipped a fourth-round pick, a seventh-round pick, and an offensive lineman to Detroit to get him, which tells you how badly the team wanted to fix its run game. Montgomery projects as the early-down and goal-line back; the between-the-tackles bruiser this offense sorely lacked last year.
Counterintuitively, that might be good news for Marks. Montgomery’s arrival should push Marks back into the pass-catching role he was built for in the first place. The relevant question is which version of this backfield we actually get. Does Montgomery operate like 2024 Joe Mixon and soak up every available touch, or can Marks retain real standalone value as the receiving back?
There is reason for cautious optimism on that front. Montgomery ceded the bulk of the passing-down work to Jahmyr Gibbs during his time in Detroit. So, the receiving role Marks covets should be there for the taking. That happens to be the exact skill set he is best equipped to provide.
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All of which is why I view Marks as a perfectly fine late-round dart throw. His ADP is RB43, and I have him a hair lower at RB47. We are talking about the very end of drafts either way. At that cost, there is a realistic path to weekly RB4 value, meaning a back you can plug into a flex in a pinch who will not leave you with a zero. That sort of floor carries real utility on rosters that load up on receivers early.
The upside sweetener is the injury contingency. Should Montgomery miss any time, Marks slots right back into the lead role he held as a rookie, and the depth behind the two of them is not remotely NFL caliber. You are not drafting Marks to start him in Week 1, but as a cheap dart with a functional floor and a clear path to standalone value, he checks the boxes.
Marks’ Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
Dynasty is where my interest fades. We have Marks at RB42 in our consensus dynasty rankings, and I struggle to find much upside beyond that number.
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The most telling data point is the Texans’ own behavior. They watched exactly what Marks offered as a rookie, then turned around and traded real assets for Montgomery. That is a franchise, making it clear it does not view Marks as its lead back, and actions like that matter far more than anything said at a podium.
Montgomery is likely only in Houston for the 2026 season. He signed with the Texans for two years, but can easily be cut after this season. Even if he walks after the year, I have little doubt the Texans will simply sign or draft a replacement rather than elevate Marks. I do not see a plausible scenario in which Marks ever commands a more prominent role than the one he stumbled into as a rookie, and that role was not good enough to build around. He is a name I am content to let someone else roster in dynasty.
