With Roster cutdown day in the rearview and Week 1 of the regular season approaching, Houston Texans fans are finally getting some clarity around their running back depth chart. But don't expect this apparent clarity to last long — things could be upended at any minute.
The obvious lead storyline is Joe Mixon's health. He's off the depth chart altogether, as he's guaranteed to miss at least four games on the reserve/NFI list. At this point, the Texans' weird refusal to provide any real info on him even starts to call into question whether he'll play in 2025 at all. But the depth chart without Mixon doesn't really offer much hope of long-term consistency.
Any backfield will be subject to some uncertainty early in the season, but that should be especially true in Houston. Nobody in this room is without their serious question-marks. Roster cuts have at least clarified who is in the room, and it's not hard to project how they will stack up in Week 1, but a single big game or a single blunder could cause rapid changes. But lets start with the easy part, which is what we know now.
Texans Running Back Depth Chart Heading Into Week 1
- RB1: Nick Chubb
- RB2: Dameon Pierce
- RB3: Dare Ogunbowale
- RB4: Woody Marks
- Fullback: British Brooks
- injured: Joe Mixon
- Practice squad: Jawhar Jordan, Jakob Johnson (FB)
Any surprises on here are surprises that came on roster cutdown day. And for most people who were projecting the room, those were few and far between.
The Mixon-less pecking order of Chubb, Pierce, Ogunbowale and Marks was clear. Jordan's chances of making the 53-man roster as the sixth man in the backfield were basically zero. Only the fullback spot seemed to catch anyone off guard.
But now, with the roster set, new questions have emerged.
Can Nick Chubb and Dameon Pierce Really Replace Joe Mixon?
With zero clarity around Mixon (and none looking like it will be coming any time soon), you really just have to analyze this backfield through the lens that he won't contribute this year. And if he does, that's an added bonus. So that means Nick Chubb and Dameon Pierce will be asked to do their best impression of the workhorse.
And that's not good news.
For all of the excitement that adding someone who was once as great as Chubb brings, it's obvious that he's just not the player he was in his prime. Returning from a devastating injury last season, Chubb was one of the NFL's worst running backs. Pro Football Focus had him graded out at 57.5, which ranked No. 46 among 47 qualifying players at the position.
Maybe some more time getting healthy will help, but the idea that being one year older will help a running back who turns 30 years old in December doesn't feel all that likely.
Pierce was much better last year (72.0 grade from PFF), and frankly he's probably been better than Texans fans give him credit for. He was a popular pick in speculation around offseason cuts, but there's a real case to be made for him being more effective than Chubb at this stage in their careers. It would be little surprise if he were to leapfrog Chubb for the RB1 spot.
But that's not necessarily a good thing. Pierce had his chance at being an RB1 in the past, and he couldn't hold onto the job. There's a reason the Texans continue trying to find a new lead back despite the fact that Pierce showed flashes with 939 yards as a rookie back in 2022.
Is Dare Ogunbowale Too One-Dimensional?
There's no argument that Dare Ogunbowale would ever take over as the RB1 or lead a backfield. He's a passing-down back with more receiving yards (774) than rushing yards (569) in his eight-year career. He has almost as many targets (61) as rush attempts (80) in his three years with the Texans.
With that skillset, he can obviously complement a run-first back like Chubb or Pierce. But does that really make him valuable in a committee like this one?
The biggest issue is that a rotation as simple as going with Chubb or Pierce on rushing downs and Ogunbowale on passing downs makes your offense very predictable. Defensive playcallers will obviously pick up on that trend, and it means Houston needs to have an extra factor to worry about with every playcall.
Ogunbowale has his place, but he makes a lot more sense as a complementary piece to a complete back like Mixon, when Mixon can play any borderline down-and-distance combos to keep the defense on their toes.
Can Woody Marks Take Over? (And for Who?)
Then we have the wildcard. Rookie Woody Marks didn't exactly stand out from the crowd over the summer, so there hasn't been much buzz about a potential first-year breakout shaking up the backfield. But that doesn't mean it can't happen.
The fourth-round pick was never going to lose his roster spot this early in the proceedings, and even if it takes him a couple months of the season to get up to speed, the quick development rookies can see at this stage of their careers could get him onto the field.
But where does he fit in to the depth chart?
Admittedly, it would be pretty shocking if he suddenly emerged as a true every-down RB1. But what he can do is fix some of the Ogunbowale issues. Marks is a capable receiver out of the backfield, especially for a rookie, but isn't entirely one-dimensional either.
Is the Fullback Competition Over?
Most fans weren't exactly on the edge of their seats to see the result of the Jakob Johnson/British Brooks competition at fullback, but the result was surprising.
Johnson was getting a ton of work this preseason, and his versatility to also play tight end seemed beneficial for his chances of making the roster. Brooks was an undrafted free agent in 2024 who made sporadic appearances as a special teamer as a rookie, playing only 9 offensive snaps.
But something must have changed down the stretch, and it's Brooks who lands the 53-man roster spot.
Johnson is back on the practice squad though, so if Brooks struggles at all (even on special teams), we could very easily see the two swap places.