Houston Texans Depth Chart 2026
How to Read the Houston Texans Depth Chart
The 2026 Houston Texans depth chart shows the projected player order at each position across offense, defense and special teams. The first listed player is the projected starter, followed by backups and additional positional depth. Roles may change following injuries, roster transactions and coaching decisions.
C.J. Stroud is the Texans' starting quarterback, with Davis Mills as the backup. Woody Marks leads the backfield; Nico Collins, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaylin Noel start at wide receiver and Dalton Schultz at tight end.
Key
Role
Status
Offense
QB
RB
XWR
ZWR
SWR
TE
LT
LG
C
RG
RT
Usage = last three games in bold, season to date in grey, through October 24, 2026. Starters only. Full splits and league-wide comparison are in StatRankings+.
Defense
LDE
LDT
RDT
RDE
WLB
MLB
SLB
LCB
SS
FS
RCB
NB
Special Teams
| POS | Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PK | StarterKa'imi Fairbairn | |||
| P | StarterKai Kroeger | |||
| H | StarterKai Kroeger | |||
| PR | StarterJaylin Noel | RotationalTremon Smith | ||
| KR | StarterJaylin Noel | RotationalTremon Smith | BackupWoody Marks | BackupXavier Hutchinson |
| LS | StarterAustin Brinkman |
Special teams, see Full Roster
Injury status: Week 7
- David Montgomery (RB): Out, groin, did not participate
- Tank Dell (SWR): Out, knee, full participation
- Blake Fisher (RT): Out, thumb, did not participate
- Reed Blankenship (FS): Out, concussion, did not participate
- Jalen Pitre (NB): Out, shoulder, did not participate
Houston Texans depth chart questions
Who is the Texans' starting quarterback?
C.J. Stroud is the starting QB for Week 7. Davis Mills is the backup.
Who is QB2 for the Texans?
Davis Mills. Graham Mertz is third on the depth chart.
Who is the Texans' RB1?
Woody Marks. Dare Ogunbowale is the primary backup. David Montgomery is out (groin).
Who are the Texans' starting wide receivers?
Nico Collins (X), Marvin Harrison Jr. (Z) and Jaylin Noel (slot).
Who is the Texans' starting tight end?
Dalton Schultz. Foster Moreau is second on the depth chart.
How the Texans actually use their depth chart
The Texans depth chart matches how they use it. Nico Collins leads the team in target share over the last three games at 20.2%, ahead of season leader Dalton Schultz at 12.1% (16.8% on the season). Xavier Hutchinson is next at 13.1% over the same three games, down from 15.5% on the season.
Collins has played 71.2% of the Texans' offensive snaps over the last three games, up from 47.4% season to date, the largest rise on the roster. That moves him past Kayshon Boutte, who leads the Texans in snap share on the season at 57.9% and sits at 53.8% over the same three games.
Foster Moreau is on the field for 46.2% of snaps over the last three games but runs a route on only 22.1% of dropbacks, the widest gap between the two on the roster. Collins runs a route on 82.7% of the Texans' dropbacks over the last three games, the highest on the team, up from 50.8% on the season.
Snap share, route participation and target share cover the last three games, with season-to-date figures for comparison, through October 24, 2026. Minimums in those games: 42 snaps, 17 routes and 4 targets. Full splits and league-wide comparison are in StatRankings+.
