The Houston Texans may be trying to confuse everyone at the running back position.
When the unofficial team depth chart was tweeted out on Wednesday, it listed both David Johnson and Mark Ingram II as starting runningbacks. Unless the Texans are going to implement a two-back set, then it may just be caused by the preseason.
They could go into a 20 personnel set (2 RB, 0 TE) to spread the defense out. The roster doesn’t really list a dedicated fullback, so a tight end would most likely fill in for that role. Who’s going to win the actual starting role?
Earlier this month, I wrote about how Mark Ingram II is going to be the team’s best fantasy running back. While that didn’t really sit that well with the Texans fans in the comments, the truth is David Johnson is past his prime as a rusher. Now with how bad the Texans are, there is only so much that he can control.
#Texans unofficial depth chart, preseason Week 1 pic.twitter.com/bpLdWk1FzP
— Mark Lane (@therealmarklane) August 11, 2021
David Johnson’s success last year wasn’t sustained for the Houston Texans
Johnson can now best be described as sporadic and random. He only produced one 100-yard game last season and that was against the Cincinnati Bengals. His next closest yardage was week 5 vs the Jacksonville Jaguars with 96.
Even when he gets close, he rarely does it against teams that are better than the Texans. I’m not saying every rusher has to have 100+ yards to be effective, but Johnson simply is not reliable. The 100+ yard receiving game he had against the Indianapolis Colts is such a statistical outlier that it doesn’t hold much weight. 8 receiving TD’s is pretty good, I have to admit. I just can’t shake the feeling that Johnson will be more of a third-down back than the starter.
On the other hand, Mark Ingram didn’t have the greatest year either. However, if you ask any NFL fan who’d they’d rather give the ball to, I’m pretty sure they’d say Ingram II. With Ingram unofficially being ranked as an RB1, then his time to shine may just happen.
The preseason is where the true RB1 spot will be won or lost by either candidate. There’s always the chance it could be running back by committee, but I doubt that’s going to happen with a new quarterback (most likely) playing for the Houston Texans. A consistent runner whose the most effective will win the job.