The Houston Texans are less than two weeks away from the NFL trade deadline.

And for a 2-5 team looking to try and continue competing for a playoff spot as this Texans team is equipped to do, it might be in their best interest to go out and look around the trade market to see how they can improve this current squad.

But where could the Texans use help?

On paper, their defense should be much better than it is with the talent they have on hand. And offensively, Houston's already made a ton of moves over the past several months in an effort to try and get them to an above-average unit.

However, when taking a step back to look at what Houston's roster is currently working with, there's one area of this group that feels like a no-brainer to go out and attack at the trade deadline: and that's their running back position.

Texans Could Use More RB Depth at the Trade Deadline

Yes, the Texans have already made a big swing to their running back room earlier this offseason when they went out to go and add David Montgomery.

But Montgomery hasn't performed up to the level that anyone in Houston would've hoped for the five games he's been on the field. And as of recently, he's been out for two-straight games due to a lingering groin injury.

That injury from Montgomery has slimmed down this Texans running back room immensely.

Outside of Woody Marks, Houston's primary contributors behind him in the backfield have been the likes of Jawhar Jordan (who's currently on the practice squad injured reserve) and Dare Ogunbowale, who still hasn't registered a carry so far this season.

So with Montgomery underperforming and Marks in need of some extra depth to help take some of the rushing workload off his shoulders, perhaps Houston would be best served to take their focus to the trade market and address that glaring need on their offense.

Which RBs Could Be Available at the Deadline?

There's a few running backs around the NFL who have seen their names circulating in trade rumors.

Which for a running-back-needy Texans team is good news. But when looking at the situations that Houston could go out and make a call for, only a few might make sense for their particular case.

Of course, the Jonathan Taylor rumors are running rampant right now. But it's hard to really get your hopes up for such a move that, for the Texans, would be a deal made with their division rival, the Indianapolis Colts. For one of the franchise's best running backs to ever wear the uniform, that's a trade that looks to be wishful thinking.

The Indianapolis Colts now are open to trading star running back Jonathan Taylor, sources told @RapSheet and me. Multiple teams have reached out to Indianapolis, and those talks are said to be active and ongoing, according to sources. More on https://t.co/NcfwZLCjrb. pic.twitter.com/X2gYBnSFek

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 31, 2026

Tony Pollard is also seemingly in the mix as a deadline mover from the Tennessee Titans. And while it could be easier to expect the Titans to make a minor move like that with the Texans, divisional trades don't happen too often in this league. So Houston might need to look elsewhere.

A couple of names that make a whole lot more sense for Houston: Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner, who's been a trade candidate ever since the team went out to acquire Jeremiyah Love in this year's draft, and could add up for the Texans who just got done making a move involving Marvin Harrison Jr. with this same front office.

And, coincidentally, the second candidate to look towards is the guy that the Texans just got a front row seat to watch score a game-winning touchdown against them in Week 7: veteran runner Devin Singletary.

Singletary been a part of this Houston franchise once before, still has life in the tank based on what was seen last week in the Texans' deflating loss to the Giants, and would be a low-risk, potentially high-reward investment for this front office to pursue knowing their current weakness in the backfield.

Maybe the Texans decide to hold firm with their offense as is. But if there were one area to keep an eye on for Houston to reasonably upgrade in the coming days ahead of the deadline, running back makes a ton of sense to keep an eye on.