The Houston Texans will take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17 and running backs Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan and tight end Dalton Schultz will be active for the Texans.
Marks exited the Week 15 contest early due to an ankle injury, and that same injury forced him to sit out in Week 16. However, Marks was able to practice in full all week, and he has been removed from the injury report and is good to go.
Jordan should return to a backup role with Marks coming back, but he has apparently jumped veteran running back Nick Chubb on the depth chart after Jordan served as Houston's lead back instead of Chubb with Marks sidelined.
Schultz has proven to be a reliable pair of hands for the Texans in 2025, with the veteran tight end ranking second on the team in receiving yards with 685.
Ahead of the crucial showdown with Los Angeles, here's our start or sit advice for Marks, Jordan and Schultz in Week 17.
Woody Marks start or sit advice
We are assuming Marks is returning to his lead-back duties, as there hasn't been anything to suggest otherwise.
But we are concerned about Jordan eating into some of Marks' work, seeing as how the second-year back played fairly well while Marks was on the shelf.
That said, we wouldn't expect anything less than 15-20 touches for Marks, which is still a very good workload for a running back in this day and age.
Since becoming the unquestioned starter in Week 10, Marks has been OK but not great, as he ranks as RB32 overall in fantasy points per game in that span, which makes him a fringe flex option on a weekly basis.
Marks does not have a favorable matchup on Saturday, though, as the Chargers are ceding the fifth-fewest fantasy points per contest to running backs in 2025.
This decision could really go either way given Marks' expected volume, but we're just not high enough on Marks to suggest him as a starter in fantasy football championships this week.
Verdict: Sit
Jawhar Jordan start or sit advice
After exploding in place of Marks in Week 15, Jordan came back down to earth in Week 16, when he finished with just 53 yards on 15 carries and 17 yards on five receptions.
Now, Jordan is going to take a back seat to Marks, who is expected to take back his lead duties upon his return from injury this week.
Jordan will likely serve as the RB2 over Chubb, but that simply isn't a big enough role to trust him in lineups this week, especially against a Chargers defense surrendering the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs.
Verdict: Sit
Dalton Schultz start or sit advice
In the vast seas of TE2s in fantasy football, Schultz remains one of the better options out there.
Entering Week 17, Schultz ranks as TE12 overall. He has been especially good since Week 9, ranking as TE8 overall in that span.
The Chargers do present a tough matchup for tight ends, though, as Los Angeles is giving up the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to the position this season.
However, if it's between Schultz and another hit-or-miss TE2 this week, you have to roll with Schultz in that scenario.
Verdict: Start
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