Is Nick Chubb or Woody Marks the RB2 for the Texans? Which Houston Running Back Should You Draft in 2025?

August 9, 2025

Is Nick Chubb or Woody Marks the RB2 for the Texans? Should you draft Chubb or Marks in 2025 fantasy football drafts? Justin's expert draft analysis and advice.

The Houston Texans are set to be without starting running back Joe Mixon for at least a little bit with a foot injury. At the moment, it's unclear exactly when we'll see him back on the field, making the backup running back position in Houston a very important one.

But who is that backup running back? Is it Nick Chubb, whom the team signed this offseason? Is it Woody Marks, whom the team drafted in April? And what about guys like Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, and Jawhar Jordan?

Let's try to make sense of the Texans' backfield. Who is the primary backup behind the injured Mixon?

Nick Chubb Fantasy Football Outlook

The Texans have released the team's unofficial depth chart ahead of the team's first preseason game, and Nick Chubb fans should feel good about it.

#Texans 1st UNOFFICIAL depth chart
- rookie Ersery starting RT (exactly where he's practiced)
- Patterson starting C, Andrews no. 2 (they've split 1st team reps)
- reflects Pierce as active
- WR Watson ahead of Metchie
- Edwards Jr starting DT, though Settle has gotten 1st team… pic.twitter.com/iLO0Bx46R0

— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) August 5, 2025

Chubb is listed as the current starter, with Dameon Pierce as the No. 2, Dare Ogunbowale as the No. 3, and Woody Marks as the No. 4. That's a pretty clear sign that the team views Chubb as the lead back with Mixon sidelined.

The concern here is that Chubb simply might not be as good as he used to be. He suffered a pretty awful knee injury in 2023, and when he finally got back on the field last season, he looked like a shell of his former self. It's also worth noting he's dealing with a head injury at the time of this article.

In his last full season in 2022, Chubb rushed for over 1,500 yards and tied his career-best mark in rushing touchdowns with 12. He averaged 89.7 rushing yards per game, marking the fourth year in a row he averaged over 88 rushing yards per contest.

Simply put, 2022 Chubb was one of the NFL's best players, but 2024 Chubb paled in comparison.

Chubb played eight games last season, averaging a career-low 3.3 yards per carry and 41.5 yards per game. That YPC number is especially concerning because Chubb had never averaged under five yards per carry. He's never been a factor in the pass game, but he's made up for it by being a lock to gain positive yardage between the tackles.

Maybe, another year removed from the knee injury, Chubb will have a bounce-back season. However, it seems more likely that a player whose whole game revolves around physicality just isn't going to be the same guy he was after a knee issue as bad as the one he dealt with.

Still, Chubb has the lead to be the primary back until Mixon is back and should see short-yardage work once he returns. It's just unclear how good he'll be in that role.

As far as fantasy goes, Chubb is draftable at his current ADP, as he's going as a low-end RB4. That might be a tad low when considering the unknowns of the Mixon injury and the real possibility that we get multiple weeks of Chubb as the starter, but I think the risk of him simply being washed up makes it tough to justify reaching for him more than a handful of picks before his ADP.

Woody Marks Fantasy Football Outlook

Alright, so let's get the bad news out of the way first: Marks is listed as the team's fourth-string running back. So, why am I talking about him in his own section instead of talking about one of the other backs?

Because I don't believe the depth chart.

Okay, I do believe it, in the sense that Marks will be the fourth-string running back for the preseason opener, but I don't believe that his current spot on it really means anything for the regular season.

One reason is that I simply trust the rookie more than I trust the two running backs ahead of him on the depth chart.

Pierce had a really solid rookie year in 2022, but his numbers have dipped ever since. Last season, he had 40 carries for 293 yards. The 7.3 yards per carry might look good on the surface, but 92 of those yards came on one play. Take that one play out, and the number dips to 5.2 yards per carry. Still good, but it highlights how, on low volume, it doesn't take but a play or two to make someone's numbers look better than they are.

Then there's Ogunbowale, who's carved out a decent role as a receiving back. The problem is that Ogunbowale doesn't fit the profile of an early-down back, while Marks has the skill set to play on all three downs. If it comes down to it, wouldn't you rather have the guy who can be on the field more often?

Woody Marks in the receiving game is going to be money for the Texans this fall. 📈 pic.twitter.com/SKXDUuEvcM

— Ray G (@RayGQue) August 3, 2025

Marks proved at USC last season that he can impact the game in multiple ways, catching 43 passes while also rushing for over 1,000 yards and averaging a career-high 5.7 yards per carry. Personally, I love to see a guy average his most yards per carry during the season where he had his most usage. It suggests that the improvement wasn't just a fluke.

Chubb is more likely to get the early-down work, but I'd be shocked if Marks doesn't emerge as the team's third-down back due to his impressive ability as a receiver out of the backfield.

As far as fantasy goes, Marks is one of my favorite late-round sleepers. His floor is lower than Chubb simply because we don't know what his role will look like, but he also has higher upside because he doesn't come with the same injury concerns.

Currently, Marks is being drafted RB67 in half and full PPR, per FantasyPros. At that cost, fantasy managers should be all over him.

Who Should You Draft in Fantasy Football? 

There are arguments for and against drafting both Chubb and Marks, and which one you draft really depends on how the rest of your lineup is built.

If you're someone who also drafted Mixon, then Chubb makes a lot of sense as a fill-in option until Mixon is back, because he should be the guy who gets the first crack at that role. He's also much more likely to have early-season value than Marks is.

Further PROOF Woody Marks is the more explosive Receiving Option you want behind Mixon

🏥If Mixon misses time, Chubb or Pierce will be the 1-2 down grinder

🎲Marks has MASSIVE PPR UPSIDE no matter the #Htownmade RB1

🧵6 Ambiguous RBs to SMASH ⬇️pic.twitter.com/KkNvqutRL9 https://t.co/ZSXYdO4HMC

— Dynasty Dad (@DynastyDadFF) August 1, 2025

If you can afford to be patient, though, I love the upside of Marks at his current ADP. You can get him approximately 20 running backs after Chubb, and while he'd be way too risky to be a Week 1 starter, he's worth holding because of the injury situation in Houston.

If Mixon is out longer than expected or re-injures himself, I'd feel better about Marks than Chubb by midseason or so. Based on what we saw from Chubb last year, I have exactly zero confidence that he can hold up over the course of the full season.

If you need to draft someone for immediate help at running back, Chubb is the guy, assuming Mixon remains out once the regular season arrives. If you need to draft someone in hopes they break out later in the year, then Marks should be the guy you go after.

You can also safely ignore Pierce and Ogunbowale at the moment. If Chubb falls apart even faster than expected, Pierce could have a fantasy-relevant role, but that's something you can worry about on the waiver wire. There's no point in drafting him at the moment.

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