The Houston Texans are officially beyond the halfway point of the 2025 NFL season, and according to head coach DeMeco Ryans, that's more than enough time for the training wheels to come off for the handful of rookies who have immediately managed to settl into a key role for the two-time defending division champions this year.
Ryans knows a thing or two about making an impact right out of the gate. Not only did Ryans oversee the rookie seasons of both CJ Stroud and Will Anderson Jr., a pair of stars who were named Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year respectively in 2023, but Ryans himself was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006 after leading the NFL in solo tackles in his first pro season.
"The rookie name plate is off. It's like, let's go, and how can we finish the season the right way," Ryans said during an appearance on Texans Radio. "These guys are not rookies. They're making plays in the critical times of the game. Crunch time, we need it most, we're counting on the rookies."
Ryans went on to mention four players specifically by name, and they're the exact four guys you'd expect to hear in any conversation about Houston Texans rookies who are being counted on to make contributions like vets down the stretch.
“No more rookies," Ryans declared. "Like, Woody [Marks], like let’s go. Woody's done a great job. We gotta continue to feed him more. [Jayden] Higgins, on the outside, everybody sees the guys catch radius is insane. Like, put the ball in his vicinity, he's going to go and get it. You need a big play, who shows up on 4th down? It’s Jaylin Noel showing up when we needed it most to make that play. Tae [Aireontae Ersery] is doing a good job there at left, continuing to battle down in and down out. He's getting better as the season's gone on."
Woody Marks breakout could be on the horizon
If you take what DeMeco Ryans is saying at face value, then it could mean 4th round rookie -- oops, sorry, not rookies anymore -- running back Woody Marks may end up being one of the biggest beneficiaries of those training wheels coming off.
We've been waiting on the full-scale Woody Marks breakout for weeks now, really ever since a Week 4 performance in which Marks had 119 yards of total offense and two scores in a 26-0 win over the Tennessee Titans. It was the first game all season in which Marks had more touches than veteran running back Nick Chubb, but since then, the workload has been split pretty evenly between the two backs, even as everyone in Houston seems to be clamoring for more Woody.
Touches since Week 5 | Total yards since Week 5 | Touchdowns since Week 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Woody Marks | 61 | 278 | 2 |
Nick Chubb | 53 | 227 | 1 |
Although those numbers are far closer to a 50-50 split than one would've assumed they'd be after Marks' Week 4 breakout, there's still hope that things will soon swing his way, fueled not only by Ryans' comments, but also that Marks was listed as the starter for the first time all season in Week 10's victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The USC product made his first start in Sunday's comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. That might serve as a sign of what's to come from Marks and a 4-5 Texans team trying to salvage its season," writes Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox, who named Marks Houston's biggest breakout candidate over the 2nd half of the season. "Marks was in and out of the game plan early in the season, but he has taken over as the team's top back over the last month. He's logged 10-plus carries in four straight games and tallied 254 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns during that span."