After holding our collective breath for Dameon Pierce to carry on his rookie promise, and Joe Mixon to return from magical, mystery, injury land, it’s time to move on.
2025 rookie Woody Marks managed to hammer out 703 yards on 196 carries for a 3.6 yard per carry average in first year. The beating he took seemed to wear on him more and more as the season progressed, however.
30-year old Nick Chubb still has a little gas in the tank, contributing 506 yards on 122 carries for a 4.1 yard average. The former star tailback’s best days are behind him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t see the end zone a lot more in his future. And, Chubb is a free agent that the Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley may not want general manager Nick Caserio to bring back, simply due to lack of space on the running back depth chart.
Jawhar Jordan shone like the sun in his December 14th game against the Arizona Cardinals, ripping through the Cards D for 101 yards and a nasty 6.7 yards per carry. Unfortunately in the next two games combined Jordan only put up 89 yards on 22 attempts. Potential is there, but the 2024 6th round draft pick has had 2 seasons to cement himself as the bell cow and hasn’t done it yet.
2026 NFL Free Agent Running Backs
The fine folks at Walter Football have, once again, put together a great list of pending free agents.
Breece Hall
#1 on that list is soon to be former New York Jets runner Breece Hall. Greg Auman at Foxsports predicts the Jets may toss out big money to bring Hall back. Expected to land “north of $10 million” (which isn’t that big in star player circles) Hall might appeal to any number of other teams with cap space and need of someone to tote the rock. Are the Texans that team?
Hall has amassed 3,398 yards on 755 carries for a 4.5 yard average in his carer with the Jets. At 5’11” and 217 lbs, the 2022 2nd round pick out of Iowa State might endure an NFL running back beating better than Marks. Not sure the Texans and Hall make a perfect match however. Where’s the second coming of Earl Campbell when you need him?
PFF has Hall ranked as #2 on their list with an 84.4 overall grade, as does Foxsports. Profootballnetwork has him in the top slot.
Travis Etienne
The former Clemson Tiger living highlight reel hasn’t really lit the NFL gridiron on fire the way he did in college. He did finally manage to light the fuse in 2025, rocketing to his second career 1100+ yard season, with 1107 yards on 260 attempts for a 4.3 yard per carry average. Over the course of his 4-year career, Etienne has also grabbed 168 receptions for 1338 yards – which might be a major help to a guy like C.J. Stroud. Just sayin’.
Etienne embodies that Swiss Army knife sort of player profile that the Texans have historically valued. Pulling him from a division rival in the Jacksonville Jaguars wouldn’t hurt either. However, he also doesn’t fit the big, bruiser back that Caley seems to want to build an offense around. Let’s face it, play action, bootlegs and such work an awful lot better when the defenders are still rearranging their mouthguard after getting hit by a freight train on the play before.
Kenneth Walker
It seems every year there’s a Super Bowl darling player who is smart enough, skilled enough and lucky enough to leverage a playoff run and/or Super Bowl performance into a huge payday. This year’s candidate is Kenneth Walker. It’s not that often that a running back grabs the Super Bowl MVP title, so, pay the man.
Rumors swirl that several AFC teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and others will square off to sign Walker. His expected payday is well into the mid $30 million range. However, other rumors claim he wants to re-sign with the Seahawks in hopes of back-to-back championships.
His 3 playoff outings in 2025/26 brought 313 yards on 65 carries, a 4.8 yard per carry average and 4 touchdowns. Against the New England Patriots he racked up 135 yards on 27 carries. Had the Texans managed to get that sort of production against the Patriots in the divisional round, Stroud may not have been in a position where he started playing catch with the opponents.
$35 million tied up in a tailback doesn’t make sense for the 2026 Texans, however. So, odds of Walker playing for the good guys is pretty slim.
2026 NFL Draft Running Backs
If the Texans don’t see an answer to the bellcow question in free agency, maybe there’s a rock star in the draft.
Jeremiyah Love
PFF.com has the Notre Dame tailback as their #1 running back prospect in the upcoming draft.
Strengths:
- Acceleration and top speed are top-tier for the NFL
- Incredibly impressive footwork, with excellent quickness and balance
- Very quick processor for change of direction and jukes
- Determined running and blocking mentality
- Very natural receiver out of the backfield
Weaknesses:
- Work between the tackles isn’t as impactful
- Has moments in pass protection where he gets reckless (dips his head, lunges with his shoulder, etc.)
“Work between the tackles isn’t as impactful” might mean a big NO for Caley’s offense. These Patriot South, EP style offensive coordinators do love to hammer the gap (see Bill O’Brien).
NFLdraftbuzz has Love ranked 91.3 out of 100, with a 97 break tackles rating – a trait that would help Houston as it continues to solidify an offensive line that seemingly lives to have running backs make first contact on the wrong side of the line.
Jonah Coleman
The Washington back lands at #2 on the PFF RB draft board and he seems a little more suitable for Caley’s hammer the middle running game.
Strengths:
- Has the size to consistently run behind his pads with power
- Has more lateral agility than expected for his weight class
- Decent processing speed to find open rushing lanes
- Very good efficiency numbers (missed tackles forced per attempt and yards after contact per attempt)
- Decent work as a receiver (only one drop on 113 career targets)
- Only one career fumble on 672 career touches
- Great vision, technique and effectiveness in pass protection
Weaknesses:
- Speed appears to be well below average for the NFL, both in top speed and acceleration
- Has some bad misses this year in pass protection, particularly when failing to block pressure with proper inside-out priority
While the speed is definitely worrisome, the ability to make defenders miss, and run over those who don’t, would make a nice compliment to Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan. At 5’8” 228lbs, Coleman projects that sort of pinball/bowling ball style that gets lost in the mix of bodies only to bounce out of the pack after sneakily t-boning an unsuspecting would-be tackler.
Honestly, this sort of running back seems like the missing piece to the Texans offensive puzzle right now. A Maurice Jones-Drew style back would make the rest of this offense electric.
Emmett Johnson
The Nebraska Cornhusker is both slippery and elusive. He also provides a safety net for Stroud to dump off a pass and watch a teammate take it downfield, ala Etienne.
Strengths:
- Excellent footwork — light on his feet with precise, explosive cutting behind man/gap concepts
- Good top speed for the NFL level, though not top-tier
- Very determined running style — competitive toughness and consistent effort
- Natural hands as a receiver with strong yards per route run usage and missed tackles forced per reception in space
Weaknesses:
- Has the determination but lacks the weight and strength for consistent pass protection
- His game is built more around vision and elusiveness than true explosiveness
Strength and weight are something Texans strength and conditioning coach Mike Eubanks can develop if the player has the same commitment to win that head coach Demeco Ryans seems to instill in all the players. Johnson’s ability to make jump cuts and see the field translates well to the NFL and he’s fast enough to run away from most big bodied defenders.
Whether the Texans grab another free agent, pick up a back in the draft, trade for someone or do any combination thereof, they need another back. Will it be one of these guys? Maybe. We’ll know in the next 10 weeks.