David Montgomery Dynasty Outlook After Shocking Texans Trade

Dynasty Outlook for David Montgomery

Current Production

Montgomery played his first four seasons with the Chicago Bears and his last three with the Lions. In 2020, he was the RB4. In the other six seasons, he has finished between the RB17 and the RB27 in PPR leagues. Last season was the worst finish of his career in what was the most games he has ever played in (17).

The Lions were using a split backfield to start the season, but Jahmyr Gibbs became the workhorse back by the second half of the season. In the first nine games, Montgomery saw double-digit carries in seven of them. In the final eight games, he only had ten carries one time. The opportunities were not there for Montgomery.

Montgomery Dynasty Price

According to KeepTradeCut, a website that crowdsources dynasty values from players who use the site, Montgomery is the RB38. The running backs ranked around him are Rico Dowdle, Chuba Hubbard, Rhamondre Stevenson, JCM, Braelon Allen, and Jonathan Brooks. Montgomery is worth a mid-second round pick in dynasty rookie drafts.

Montgomery Contract

Montgomery signed a two-year extension with the Lions for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Now, that contract goes to the Texans. There is a potential out after the 2026 season, but at the moment, the 29-year-old Montgomery will play the next two seasons in Houston.

Montgomery Dynasty Outlook

The Texans struggled at running back in 2025, with the suspicious injury to Joe Mixon, the aging Nick Chubb, and the rookie Woody Marks. Only Marks is expected to be back among those three guys. Montgomery is a proven three-down power back, which is what the Texans were missing last season. Marks is more of a change-of-pace back, who I expect to be in on third downs in obvious pass-catching situations. The Texans need someone who can pound the rock in goal-to-go situations, and Montgomery will be that guy. Montgomery struggled to get double-digit carries in the second half of last season, but I expect him to reach that number in most games in 2026 as the lead back for the Texans.

What To Do With David Montgomery in Dynasty Leagues

The trade is an upgrade for Montgomery. He was being phased out in Detroit, and now he has a new life in Houston, where it appears he will be the starting running back entering 2026. However, Montgomery is approaching 30 years old and only has one or two more good years left in him. Montgomery is a good buy-now piece for dynasty managers looking to compete in 2026. I wouldn’t give up anything more than a second-round pick for Montgomery. For rebuilding managers, Montgomery is definitely someone to trade away, and a second-round pick is a decent return package for someone who could not be started in fantasy leagues at the end of the year last season.