Who Should I Start? Keith Smith or David Montgomery

Thursday, August 6, 11:00 AM

Houston Texans running back David Montgomery is not taking over an empty backfield, but he still has the better path to fantasy points. The 29-year-old was squeezed down to a career-low 158 carries in Detroit last season and still produced 716 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt. Houston traded for him in March, then reworked his contract into a two-year, $16.5 million deal with $10 million guaranteed. Woody Marks is not disappearing. He led the Texans with 196 carries for 703 yards as a rookie, caught 24 passes for 208 yards and three scores, and has been preparing for a larger receiving role. Current camp reporting suggests the split will change with the situation. That still leaves Montgomery as the stronger bet for the physical early-down work, with Marks mixing in on passing downs and elsewhere. RotoBaller ranks Montgomery RB21 in PPR and RB26 in dynasty. That is a fair price for a back who has scored at least eight touchdowns in three straight seasons. He remains a solid redraft RB2 and a useful win-now piece. Rebuilding teams should be willing to shop him before the age discount gets any steeper.