The Houston Texans prepare for their Week 15 road matchup against the Arizona Cardinals following their impressive Sunday Night Football victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Woody Marks sustained an ankle injury during last week’s game. Will fantasy football managers have the rookie running back available for this favorable matchup?
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Woody Marks Injury Update
Marks sustained a foot injury during the first quarter of the Week 13 contest against Indianapolis. The injury did not keep Marks sidelined for long. He returned to action and played the remainder of the contest. Marks finished with 19 carries for 64 yards while adding one reception for five yards in the 20-16 victory.​
Marks played through his foot injury last week and looked fine. Unfortunately, he injured his ankle during the Chiefs game. The good news is it literally cost him one play, which Dare Ogunbowale scored a touchdown on.​
Otherwise, Marks was essentially playing every snap following Nick Chubb’s rib injury. Chubb left the game in the first half with a rib injury and didn’t come back. Marks rushed the ball 26 times for 68 yards in Sunday’s 20-10 win over the Chiefs. He added two receptions on three targets for eight yards and a touchdown.​
Marks did not practice on Wednesday. This was the same routine last week when he also missed Wednesday’s practice. Even though he’s a rookie, this late in the season, the team is not going to push him to practice when they can give him a rest day. This is likely nothing more than maintenance.​
Head coach DeMeco Ryans noted Wednesday that Marks was among the Texans’ DNPs who should be fine for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. Expect Marks to return to practice on Thursday and play on Sunday.​
Marks’ Fantasy Outlook
The Texans are establishing an identity and Marks is a big part of that.
The rookie is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this season and it was even worse on Sunday night in Kansas City (2.6), but it’s clear that they trust him and that’s good enough for me in this spot as a two score home favorite.
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Marks has 16+ touches in five consecutive contests and with the Cardinals ranking bottom 10 in both yards and touchdowns per running back carry, he’s a fine RB2 that comes preloaded with a reasonable floor.
Do I think he has 25-point upside behind this offensive line? Not really, but not every piece is meant to be a matchup definer. Thanks to the volume, He’s a good bet to reach double figures in points and with reasonable touchdown equity, he’s got every chance to finish near 15 points and get the job done as a starter for you.
— PFSN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe