Houston Texans RB depth chart after team signs Nick Chubb
The Houston Texans have signed former Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb to a one-year deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. But where does Chubb fit on the team's running backs depth chart?
Chubb is the second former starter for an AFC North team that the Texans are poaching in two offseasons. Last year, the team traded for former Bengals starter Joe Mixon, who took over the starting gig in Houston. Mixon earned his second career Pro Bowl nod after a season with 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The addition of Chubb also means the Texans will face a roster crunch at the running back position soon. Chubb will be the fifth running back on a team that just spent a fourth-round pick on adding depth to the backfield, re-signed Dare Ogunbowale earlier in the offseason and signed Mixon to a three-year extension last year.
Houston Texans RB depth chart
The Texans have five running backs on their roster now that the Chubb signing is official.
- Joe Mixon
- Nick Chubb
- Dameon Pierce
- Woody Marks
- Dare Ogunbowale
Mixon was one of the Texans' biggest offensive acquisitions last offseason. The team traded a seventh-round pick to Cincinnati for the veteran then granted him a three-year, $27 million extension. Mixon immediately took over the top spot in the Texans' backfield and recorded 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns on 245 rush attempts. In 14 games – he missed Weeks 3 through 5 with an ankle injury – he averaged 4.1 yards per carry in 14 games.
Chubb is the team's latest acquisition, a late free agency signing as the team prepares for its mandatory veteran minicamp, which starts Tuesday. In eight games during the 2024 season, Chubb compiled 332 yards on 102 rushes (3.3 yards per carry) and three rushing touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 31 yards and added a receiving touchdown as well. The former Brown is coming off of a season-ending broken foot and two straight seasons playing in fewer than 10 games.
In 2022, Pierce, a fourth-round rookie, took over the Texans' starting running back role. He went on to rush for 939 yards and four touchdowns on 220 attempts (4.3 yards per carry) but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 13. After a slow start to the 2023 season and another ankle injury, Pierce was supplanted as the Texans' starter by Devin Singletary, and he remained relegated to the backup role behind Mixon last year.
Marks was the Texans' fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He's coming off of an excellent final year at USC where he tallied career-high marks with 1,133 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Marks also finished 2024 with 321 receiving yards on 47 catches.
Ogunbowale is a more significant contributor to Houston's special teams units than he is on offense, but he still started a game last year on offense and rushed for 112 yards on 30 carries (3.7 average yards per carry). The Texans extended him on a one-year, $1.8 million deal this offseason.