For the last three seasons, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs formed one of the most notable, productive, and beloved running back tandems in football. Known as Knuckles and Sonic — Knuckles for Montgomery’s more bruising style and Sonic for Gibbs’ speed — the pair helped lead the Detroit Lions to back-to-back NFC North titles, though they fell just short of the postseason in 2025 after several key role players missed time due to injuries.
But all good things must come to an end, and the Knuckles and Sonic era in the Motor City screeched to a halt on Monday morning, when the Lions traded Montgomery to the Houston Texans for a 2026 fourth-round pick, offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, and a 2027 seventh-rounder. The deal came a day after rumors came out that Montgomery had requested a trade away from the franchise, which both the team and player denied.
Montgomery had seen a small dip in his usage rate across the second half of the 2025 season, as he averaged 11.6 carries per game across the first nine games and only 6.8 carries per game in the last eight. He was similarly productive in both halves of the season, accumulating 4.5 yards per carry in the first nine games and 4.6 yards per carry in the last eight, but Detroit went just 3-5 in those contests. Gibbs’ usage remained constant, though his efficiency also dipped.
Montgomery losing some of his snaps doesn’t mean he’s not still a productive running back. He posted the 21st-highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades among 59 qualified running backs, including the eighth-highest receiving grades. Montgomery also ranked 11th in rushing yards over expectation per attempt, ahead of even Gibbs. Given that he ranked ahead of Texans incumbent starter Woody Marks by all three metrics, he should inherit a fairly sizable role in Houston, a team desperately in need of a more reliable rushing attack. The Texans’ Divisional Round loss to the New England Patriots was a result of several factors, but Marks’ turning 14 carries into just 17 yards certainly didn’t help.
His efficiency could dip slightly, as in 2025, Houston’s offensive line posted lower run-blocking grades than the Lions’ did, though the Texans certainly should be able to upgrade on Scruggs, who posted the sixth-worst run-blocking grades of any offensive lineman league-wide with at least 100 snaps. C.J. Stroud also delivers accurate balls less frequently than Jared Goff, and Houston targeted running backs at the fifth-lowest frequency last season, though it didn’t have a receiving threat as good as Montgomery on its roster.
All in all, Montgomery’s role as the feature back should make him a decent fantasy option, but he likely won’t reach RB1 status in standard 10- or 12-team leagues. He’ll be 29 years old by the time the season starts, and given that he’s a bruising running back who’s missed at least three games due to injury in three of the last five seasons, it’s possible that his best days are permanently behind him. Plus, the Texans’ schedule is tough: every team in the AFC South ranked 14th or better in fantasy points allowed to running backs, and they’ll also face the Pittsburgh Steelers (eighth) and Los Angeles Chargers (fourth).
