Does Montgomery to Texans improve fantasy stock?
Matthew Berry dives into the reported trade that saw running back David Montgomery head to the Houston Texans, explaining if this better or worsens Montgomery's fantasy value for next season.
Video Transcript
We have a trade.
Dave Montgomery going from the Detroit Lions to the Houston Texans, and this is one of those where you're like, "Yeah, that makes sense."
Think about Houston last year, right?
13th in rushing attempts, and yet bottom five in the NFL in yards per carry and in rushing touchdowns.
Like, they just-- They wanted to run.
They tried to run.
They ran, they just, they weren't particularly efficient.
They had Nick Chubb, who, you know, we love Nick Chubb, but just, you know, didn't look like the old Nick Chubb last year.
And Woody Marks, who was used as a pass catcher in college, suddenly they're trying to run him on first and second down.
The, the Texans' offensive line actually pretty good in yards before first contact, so it's just, like, you know, Woody Marks is probably a guy that should be much more of a third down back like he was used in college.
So now here comes Dave Montgomery, who is a physical runner, who is good in yards after contact, who can be that first and second down thumper.
They want to run the ball.
They want to take pressure off of C.J.
Stroud.
They wanna use Woody Marks as he was meant to be used, as a third down kind of explosive pass-catching running back.
What does this mean for fantasy?
Look, neither guy is a top twenty-four guy for me.
I don't think either guy is a, is a starting running back for me.
But I think Dave Montgomery becomes basically a touchdown-dependent flex, right?
You know, like, he'll be, you know, like, eight hundred yards, eight touchdowns, be a touchdown-dependent flex.
And then, you know, Woody Marks is like a, you know, again, like a PPR-worthy flex.
Depends on the week, depends on the size of your league and everything like that.
But, you know, these are running backs that are gonna be in the twenty-five to thirty-five range in terms of my rankings.
We'll see how it all plays out in terms of where other running backs land for the draft and free agency and everything like that.
But ultimately, I think this is a really good move for the Texans from an NFL perspective.
And fantasy-wise, like, it's a slight upgrade for Montgomery, 'cause at least now he'll have a consistent role on Houston, whereas we knew that last year it was very much like, oh, okay, it's all Jahmyr Gibbs and maybe Monte falls into the end zone.
Last thing here, Jahmyr Gibbs is now-- Look, I have Bijan Robinson as my 101, but Jahmyr Gibbs, who's already my 102, but honestly, I think with Dave Montgomery leaving Detroit, I think it's a coin flip.
And if you went Jahmyr Gibbs at number one, I got no problem with that at all.
