HOUSTON \u2013 For Texans running back Woody Marks, his rookie season was defined by an ability to adapt on the fly.<\/p>\n
Marks eluded tacklers in tight spaces to create yards out of nothing and displayed enough power to break tackles. Although relatively underutilized compared to his college days, Marks was adept at catching passes out of the backfield. And he opened eyes as a bruising pass-blocker who took pride in knocking back blitzers with well-timed shots.<\/p>\n
Marks emerged as the starting running back for a playoff squad, replacing former Pro Bowl runner Nick Chubb as the primary centerpiece of an up-and-down running game. Patience was a watchword for Marks, who didn\u2019t earn the starting job over Chubb until the ninth game of the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That marked the first game of an 10-game winning streak that was snapped in the AFC divisional round against the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n
Marks led the team with 703 rushing yards with two touchdown runs and caught 24 passes for 208 yards and three scores.<\/p>\n
Now, Marks is adapting smoothly to a complementary role behind featured veteran running back David Montgomery after an offseason trade for the former Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears starter.<\/p>\n
The Texans still envision a solid workload for Marks that includes third-down pass-catching duties and carries along with a new role on kickoff returns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the key for Woody is understanding his role, which he does,\u201d running backs coach and assistant head coach Danny Barrett told KPRC 2. \u201cHe\u2019s going to get lots of opportunities. Last year we brought him along slower, which was good to help him kind of learn the game. And once he learned the game, he played a lot faster. And you can see him now playing even faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, his role is going to pick up some third downs, special teams.He\u2019s a kickoff return guy. But, more importantly, probably in the passing game as well. Just his level of confidence in the offense going into Year Two is at an all-time high right now. We\u2019ve got to keep it there.<\/p>\n
A fourth-round draft pick from USC last year, Marks rushed for a season-high 112 yards and a touchdown in an AFC playoff wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was held to 17 yards on 14 carries and lost a crucial fumble in the loss to the Patriot as the Texans\u2019 running game was stonewalled with just 48 yards on the ground.<\/p>\n
Marks\u2019 adjustment to the NFL was relatively smooth overall, though.<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s liking his projected role for his second NFL season in the Nick Caley system.<\/p>\n
Marks was a prolific pass-catching presence at USC and at Mississippi State before transferring.<\/p>\n
\u201cNick Caley is doing a great job right now,\u201d Marks told KPRC 2. \u201cGot me doing all types of routes, learning the route tree. Just get outside and just using me as he can so I can be productive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marks longest run in 16 games and eight starts was 23 yards with 39 first downs. He had a 50-yard catch-and-run against the Baltimore Ravens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I did decent,\u201d Marks said. \u201cJust next year, just try to be better, better my craft. There\u2019s always room for improvement and just be the best version I can and be the best version of my last name.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to get better at everything. Just get smarter at the game. I really don\u2019t have no goals. I just want to win. I want to get to the Super bowl and win the Super Bowl, so my goals come with team success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rookie seasons are about adjustments. Marks made them as the season went on, learning on the fly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe speed was very fast at first, then it slowed down,\u201d Marks said. \u201cYou kind of can see my main steps during the season, but I didn\u2019t make a lot of steps in the secondary. I think I got complete hands coming out the backfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of separated me. Most guys didn\u2019t think I could pass block, but I showed that a lot. Actually, made a big hit that last game against the Patriots.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Texans had set their ambitions on a Super Bowl run. Instead, their season ended on a cold, snowy day in Massachusetts. The Texans lost for the third year in a row in the AFC divisional round. They are now 0-7 all-time in that stage of the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was real hurtful to go out like that,\u201d Marks said. \u201cWhatever success I had, it wasn\u2019t a success. We didn\u2019t finish the game. We didn\u2019t go to the Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Texans will return the majority of their starters for next season, especially from a top-ranked defense. They\u2019ll look to upgrade the offense, including the offensive line and running game.<\/p>\n
Marks finished his collegiate career with 3,016 rushing yards and 31 touchdown runs with 261 catches for 1,564 yards and five scores.<\/p>\n
In spurts, Marks displayed decisiveness, vision and toughness.<\/p>\n
During the Texans\u2019 road trip to Detroit for a joint practice and preseason game with the Lions last year, Marks was focused on his job during his first NFL preseason.<\/p>\n
He still couldn\u2019t help but notice the obvious energy, skill and intensity of the Lions\u2019 offensive backfield headlined by running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Montgomery.<\/p>\n
Now, Marks is teaming up with Montgomery after a roster-shaking trade as he joined the Texans in exchange for fourth-round and seventh-round draft selections and offensive guard Juice Scruggs.<\/p>\n
The tandem that Gibbs, nicknamed \u2018Sonic,\u2019 for his dynamic running, and Montgomery, known as \u2018Knuckles,\u2019 for his punishing running style, is something for Marks to emulate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very excited,\u201d Marks said. \u201cJust looking back at the clips with him and Jahmyr Gibbs, it looked like they was having so much fun out there. When the running back room doing good and everybody blocking, it\u2019s a party in the running back room. So, we\u2019re looking to have that same joy him and Jahmyr Gibbs had bringing it down here in Houston.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a funny guy. We\u2019re going over plays and stuff right now. Get on the field for a short amount of time. We run plays. He wanted to change the plays to funny names. He\u2019s a great guy. Just working out with him and then with the other backs there, we get along. We\u2019re just clicking together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The arrival of Montgomery as the lead running back and primary replacement for injured former Pro Bowl selection Joe Mixon, who was released for a savings of $8 million, should allow Marks to stay fresh.<\/p>\n
Montgomery rushed for 4.5 yards per carry last season and has averaged 4.1 yards per run for his career. The Texans\u2019 running game ranked 22nd overall, 3.9 yards per carry, 29th in the NFL, and 31st with nine touchdown runs. They needed reinforcements. Montgomery provides that anchor for their running game.<\/p>\n
\u201cLove him as a back, watched him a couple times, him and Jahmyr Gibbs, see how they complement each other,\u201d Marks said. \u201cHaving another back in the backfield is always good. There\u2019s less I can take off of my body and there\u2019s less he can take off his body, and we\u2019re just ready to get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 For Texans running back Woody Marks, his rookie season was defined by an ability to adapt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[10386,7717,56,58,57,79,80,10414],"class_list":["post-362095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-david-montgomery","tag-fantasy-football","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-houston-texans","tag-nfl","tag-woody-marks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}