The Houston Texans didn’t trade for David Montgomery just to give him a change of scenery. They traded for him because they think he can be the hammer their offense has been missing.
Montgomery himself admitted his time in Detroit had run its course. And when the Texans came calling, he knew where he wanted to be.
“Houston was definitely the place that I wanted to go,” Montgomery said. “I was in Detroit, a very successful organization, and I practiced against Houston a couple of times. And they’ve always been the hardest team to practice against.”
The feeling is mutual. Texans running backs coach Danny Barrett didn’t bother hiding his excitement.
“He’s a three-down back,” Barrett told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. “He can do it all. It first starts with his mentality. He comes to work every day, same guy every day. How can I get better? The first meeting we had, we talked about how can we get better. He wants to be the best.”
Here’s the thing: the Texans didn’t just stumble into this. Barrett actually called Montgomery’s former position coach before the deal was even finalized.
“I put in a call to his former coach: ‘Give me the game plan. Give me the Cliff notes, what I need to know,’” Barrett said. “He said, ‘Coach, what you see on film, you already know. And the same guy on film is going to be the same guy every day at practice.’”
The workload should be real
Montgomery has two career 1,000-yard seasons — 1,070 in 2020 and 1,015 in 2023. But in Detroit, he was sharing carries with Jahmyr Gibbs. In Houston, the depth chart behind him includes Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan. That’s not exactly a who’s who of backs fighting for touches.
So expect a heavy workload. Montgomery has averaged over 4.0 yards per carry each of the last four seasons, including 4.5 last year. With 200-plus carries in play, 1,000 yards should be the floor, not the ceiling.
Don’t sleep on his hands, either
Offensive coordinator Nick Caley is already drooling over Montgomery’s versatility. The guy caught 36 passes for 341 yards in 2024. And according to Caley, he takes pride in that part of his game.
“You look at his pass game production, he’s just got a really good feel,” Caley said. “He’s refined. He takes a lot of pride in his route running.”
Caley went on to describe Montgomery as “all-day tough” and said “arm tackles aren’t getting it done.” High praise from a guy who’s been watching him since his Iowa State days.
The division is winnable
Last year, Houston won 12 games with the 22nd-ranked rushing attack in the NFL — 108.9 yards per game. That’s not a typo. They won a dozen games while being basically inept on the ground.
Now imagine what happens if Montgomery forces defenses to actually respect the run. The Jaguars had a nice season in 2024 but losing Calvin Ridley hurts. The Colts could be better if Daniel Jones stays upright, but that’s a big if. The Titans are still searching for an identity.
Montgomery isn’t exactly sneaking into Houston quietly. He wants to prove something.
“I want to come in and show these guys that I could hang with the big dogs,” he said.
The Texans are betting he’s exactly that kind of dog.
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