Woody Marks Start or Sit Advice for Week 6
The Houston Texans are headed to London this week to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars early on Sunday morning. After starting the season 0-4, the Texans defeated the Titans last week for their first win of the season and will look to secure a second straight division victory with a win on Sunday morning. One key player they’ll need to lean on is RB Woody Marks, who has a clearer path to playing time than he has all season, with David Montgomery (groin) ruled out. With more work available, is Marks a good option to start in your fantasy football lineup in Week 6? Let’s take a look at his season so far and his expected workload in this matchup.
Even before the injury to Montgomery last week, Marks was already heavily involved in the offense, especially in the red zone. While in the timeshare, he had shown more explosiveness and upside. He played about 50% of snaps even before the injury, and he stepped up and played 85% of the snaps in Week 5 due to Montgomery’s injury.
He finished that game with 62 rushing yards on 15 carries and also caught all four of his targets for 23 receiving yards. Marks didn’t get into the end zone but finished with a season-high 12.5 FPTS. After the game, when Montgomery was declared “week-to-week,” Coach DeMeco Ryans said that Marks was “dynamic; [he] will carry the load for us.”
Earlier this season, Marks ran for short touchdowns against the Colts and the Cowboys to give the Texans the lead in those two games. Last year, he struggled in short-yardage situations, but this season, he has been much improved in the Red Zone. Even before Montgomery’s injury, he was stepping into a role as the top option near the goal line and in passing situations.
In Week 2, he showed his upside as a receiver with five catches on six targets for 27 yards. In Week 3 and Week 4, he scored those two short touchdowns, which has allowed him to produce 8+ FPTS in each of the last four weeks.
While he should get more work this week, Marks does have a difficult matchup against the Jaguars. Jacksonville has allowed the third-fewest FPTS to running backs this season. They did give up a touchdown to the Eagles’ RBs last week, but only 20 rushing yards. This season, opposing RBs have only averaged 42 rushing yards per game against the Jags, while adding 39.6 receiving yards per game.
In his larger role, Marks does have touchdown upside and also brings a solid floor since he can catch so many passes. The matchup is tough enough, though, to keep him as a RB3 or FLEX play for this week in standard-sized leagues.
He isn’t on the main DraftKings slate with his early start time, but he’s a strong option to consider in single-game Showdown contests like the NFL Showdown $400K Showdown Special [$100K to 1st] (HOU vs JAX). In those contests, Marks has a salary of $8,400 in a FLEX spot and $12,600 in a Captain’s Pick spot. The matchup makes him high-risk despite his definite upside.
