Who Should I Start? Woody Marks or Jaydon Blue

Thursday, February 12, 7:19 AM

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks exceeded expectations as a rookie in 2026. He quickly took over the backfield from Nick Chubb and finished the year with 703 rushing yards, 208 receiving yards, and five touchdowns across 16 games (eight starts). Perhaps most eye-opening was a four-week stretch in the back half of the season, during which he averaged 21 touches per game with a modest 65.8 scrimmage yards. By year's end, he was averaging a suboptimal 3.6 yards per carry. Given that the Texans are a contender for years to come, they'll likely look to upgrade the running back position during the offseason. Adding a 1A running back so that Marks can be a change-of-pace or 1B option makes plenty of sense. That's not necessarily bad news for Marks or his fantasy managers; that shared backfield dynamic could allow him to be more consistent and less boom-or-bust, especially while giving him plenty of targets in the passing game. Managers in dynasty leagues should hold Marks right now, because he still has top-36 running back appeal for the 2026 fantasy football season.

Monday, February 16, 6:57 AM

A fourth-round pick out of the University of Texas in the 2025 NFL Draft, Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue earned some preseason buzz as a potential dark horse candidate to emerge as the Cowboys' RB1. However, the 22-year-old was a non-factor for Dallas in 2025, spending most of the year on the inactive list as a healthy scratch. Across five games played, Blue recorded 129 rushing yards and a touchdown on 38 touches. Nearly half of his rushing production came in Week 18, when the competitive portion of the Cowboys' season had already concluded. Entering 2026, Cowboys RB1 Javonte Williams is set to hit unrestricted free agency. As such, there is once again a potential playing time opportunity open to Blue in the Dallas backfield, as the only other running back currently under contract with the Cowboys for 2026 is the similarly unproven Phil Mafah. However, it seems likely that Dallas will bring in another backfield option or two in either free agency or the draft. Based on Blue's disappointing rookie year, it's difficult for fantasy managers in dynasty formats to have much trust in his potential for future production.